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Senator Rafael Cruz, the Texas Republican freshman, has gained much notoriety in his first ten months in office. His intemperate attacks on the Administration and its policies reached a peak last month when he spoke for nearly twenty-one hours on the Senate floor in an effort to goad Republicans in both Houses into risking a shut-down of the government by refusing to pass a Continuing Resolution as a temporary budget measure if the Affordable Care Act were not defunded. The resulting shutdown, now well into its second week, has drawn criticism not only from the Democrats, but from Cruz’ fellow Republicans. The damage to the economy and to the standing of the GOP as a national party have not seemed to trouble the self-seeking Cruz, who appears to revel in attention of any sort.

Cruz is a favorite of the anti-government populists who are fond of calling themselves “conservatives” and who fill the ranks of the Tea Party. His outspoken stance has generally put him at odds with the Republican establishment, an establishment desperate to rebuild the GOP into a relevant national party once again.On the other hand, Cruz’ blustering style has helped him raise campaign funds: Besides the usual outside groups such as the Club for Growth and the Senate Conservative Fund, a number of private individuals have provided financial sustenance to his career. Writing in Wonkblog Friday, Jia Lynn Yan lists wealthy conservative donors who have supported Cruz’ right-wing populism (“Here’s who pays the bills for Ted Cruz’s crusade”). This group seems to possess an ideological bent that dislikes government and is mistrustful of democracy. Cruz, with his appetite for media attention, is the perfect frontman for this shadowy collective.

In his epic Senate speech, Cruz resorted to quoting from the writings of Dr. Seuss. Given the manner in which he has prostituted himself to those monied interests, it would have been much more appropriate if he had quoted this lyric from the late Frank Zappa:

“I can’t complain when the checks come through.”