OBAMA HIT THE GOP (AND IT FELT LIKE A KISS)

The guy Texans just elected to the Senate has a rather peculiar take on recent events, according to Politico's Kevin Robillard:

Sen.-elect Ted Cruz believes Mitt Romney got a little too close to Barack Obama in the third presidential debate.

"I'm pretty certain Mitt Romney actually French-kissed Barack Obama," Cruz said in a speech at the Federalist Society's annual conference Friday.

Cruz said this about the first debate:

"It was the one time we actually contested ideas, presented two viewpoints and directions for the country," he said. "And then inevitably, there are these mandarins of politics, who give the voice: 'Don't show any contrasts. Don't rock the boat.' So by the third debate, I’m pretty certain Mitt Romney actually French-kissed Barack Obama...."

Politico's Robillard notes wryly:

The Texas Republican speech amounted to something of an alternative history of the 2012 election....

Er, yeah -- I don't know what first debate Cruz was watching, but the rest of us saw a fake Moderate Mitt who barely disagreed with Obama on anything, except for disagreeing with Obama's characterization of how much the two of them disagreed.

But I'm not surprised that a right-winger would see things this way -- to Cruz, Romney presented a sharp contrast with Obama in the first debate because Romney won. Romney was the victor, so Cruz thinks he mounted a strong defense of conservative principles. That's because, to conservatives, the really important principle is: we win, you lose.

As I wrote just after the first debate:

Generally speaking, the GOP base simply won't allow [Romney] to deviate from Conservatively Correct Thinking.

But it was OK for him to do so last night because he was beating up Obama. For wingers, absolute fealty to their principles is paramount -- except that being nasty to a liberal or Democrat trumps that. In fact, being nasty to a liberal or Democrat trumps everything for the right....

Last night, [Romney] gave up on [conservative purity]. And the wingers don't care, because he won the fight.

But if he tries it next time and loses, then they'll be upset at what he's saying.

Ergo, "French kiss."

Oh, and what is it with right-wingers and gay sex? Cruz says with disgust that Romney French-kissed Obama. Rush Limbaugh regularly complains that every moment of compromise amounts to an order to "bend over, grab your ankles." They're obsessed with this. It's embarrassing.