The chief minister of Australia’s Northern Territory did not take kindly to Ted Cruz criticizing his vaccine mandate, and told him to buzz off.
G’day from Down Under @tedcruz. Thanks for your interest in the Territory. I’m the Chief Minister. Below are a few facts about COVID down here. https://t.co/cGFwBP7Nqx pic.twitter.com/mGNyOxlN41
— Michael Gunner (@fanniebay) October 18, 2021
I’ve always said Australia is the Texas of the Pacific.
Will the flotilla seeking revenge for this insult go through the Canal or around the Horn on its way to shell the Texas coast?
Perhaps Michael Gunner would have scored better with Ted Cruz by saying that the Northern Territory currently has the lowest vaccination rate of any jurisdiction in Australia, and isn’t in fact doing all that well in the proportion of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens’ vaccinations, either.
Australian vaccination rates: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/charting-australias-covid-vaccine-rollout/13197518#peopleaus
Australian indigenous vaccination rate: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/charting-australias-covid-vaccine-rollout/13197518#indigenous
On the other hand, he Northern Territory has done remarkably well with keeping their COVID infection rate low, especially in Aboriginal communities. It was feared from the beginning of the COVID epidemic that it would devastate their communities, as has happened recently in Wilcannia (in New South Wales).
And no, I don’t think that Texas is much like Australia other than both being highly urbanised (Texas 84.7%, Australia 86.2%) 😉
Ted: “I stand with the people of Australia.”
Australians: “Please stand further away.”
I love this response. Its like the monty python skit where the french tell the king that they fart in his general direction.
Nah, sorry mate, it’s like Crocodile Dundee’s knife -- you’re a bit too small to be a state by Australian standards. We’ve only one mainland state as tiny as Texas. 😉
Yeah, Cruz obviously doesn’t get it.
Being compared to a Texan is a bit of an insult.
A typical display of arrogance, assuming that other people will take it as a compliment when you say they’re like you. Particularly when your part of the world is a miserable and backward one that has failed in managing most of the basic functions of a civilised society.
I certainly wouldn’t be comparing anyone’s Covid response to that of my native England right now, unless as a crashing condemnation.
I’m glad other people are recognizing it’s rather an insult to call another nation the “Texas” of something or other.
Let’s add it’s also geographically ignorant to say “of the Pacific”. We are situated between three oceans thank you very much and are not limited to any one of them.
We are also — fortunately — not much like Texas at all. Gun control and health care for everyone for instance.
It’s also not “standing with the people of Australia” to call a popularly elected government “tyranny” for enacting sensible responses that have wide support and are likely (I think) going to help the NT government in the polls where the people of Australia (strictly speaking, people of the Northern Territory in this instance) get to have a say on these policies.
Finally… and correct me if I am wrong on this… doesn’t Ted Cruz have a bit of a reputation for not actually standing up for much of anything at all?
Nothing could be further from the truth! Recently revealed documents have made it clearer than ever, but Ted Cruz has long been recognized as one of the chief proponents of murdering people so they may become his slaves in the afterlife.
It’s likely the only thing Ted Crud (not a typo) knows about Australia is outdated 1990s slang when people from the state of Victoria were disparagingly called “Mexicans”.
He probably doesn’t know the current government is right wing.
He probably doesn’t know the current government is right wing.
He may not know how to find Australia on a map of the wold.
@10
That’s “communist” in American English, right?
Depends which government you’re talking about. The Northern Territory has a Labor government which is perhaps more centre right with some centre left elements (in Australian terms). The Federal Liberal/National Party government is probably more incompetent than right wing, though it’s also the latter as well.
However, both support things (like a government-run national health insurance scheme) that might well be seen as “communist” in some quarters in the USA.
Ted “Cancun” Cruz stands with “the people of Australia” but did not stand with millions of Texans while they endured a massive power outage. I don’t think he really understands his role (or perhaps he does: to serve himself). What a schlub.
This makes me even more homesick for Australia.