The First Rule of Vacations: Expect All Hell to Break Loose

Advice for Sen. Ted Cruz: Time to Show, Not Tell

By Ryan Banfill

When I worked on the communications team for the governor of Florida in the 1990s, we had a joke in our family not to schedule a vacation. Why? Because Whenever I would take a vacation, a crisis would hit the state.

In the summer of 1995, I took some time off around July 4 to be with our newborn son, Grant. My boss, former Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles, went fishing and had a transient ischemic attack. The year we were hit by wildfires? I remember being on the road (probably in the Carolinas) when those flared up. Another year, I was in my grandparents’ kitchen in Southern Kansas on the third day of a visit to my hometown when CNN flashed the breaking news that our team won a multi-billion-dollar settlement of a high-profile court fight against the world’s largest cigarette makers.

So, I created my first rule of vacations: Assume that’s when all hell is going to break loose.

It is a variation of a Yiddish phrase my mother-in-law shares: Man plans, God laughs! It was a favorite of her father, a Russian immigrant who came through Ellis Island in the 1900s.

So, I just had to laugh when I saw today’s news about Sen. Ted Cruz’s mistimed vacation.

It made me think about the panic that must have rushed across Team Ted in the early morning hours.

My advice for Sen. Cruz is: You are the elected voice of Texas. Show Texans why they chose you to lead. Do it with radical authenticity. I would stress that what the Senator DOES NOW matters more than what he SAYS.

IT’S ABOUT PEOPLE NOW

I would encourage him to put on something heavier than the hunting coat and get into the frozen fields and spend time out there. Listen to people, find out what they need, and get them what they need. Pull together the core members of the policy, political and finance teams and put their talents together to solve people’s problems, now.

If money is needed, have the finance team raise $100 million for the Texas relief effort before March 1. If on the ground resources are needed, engage the grassroots political network to identify what is needed most, where it is needed, who has it, and who can get it there. If policy levers need to be pulled to get people moving, Senator Cruz needs to be the one getting them pulled.

When Sen. Cruz speaks, he should always tell personal stories about people he has met who are suffering. When the conversation gets to policy recommendations and changes, then approach those answers through a conservative prism. Right now, people want answers.

BE BRUTALLY CANDID AND RADICALLY AUTHENTIC

Sen. Cruz will have to tell them the straight story, no sugarcoating. They’re Texans and they’re tough. Some of my best friends and relatives are Texans — native and transplanted. They deserve serious action in their hour of need and real answers when the time for accountability for this unfolding tragedy undoubtedly comes.

Here is what I know. This is the kind of political mistake that will leave a long-lasting impression in the minds of voters across the nation. It has been reported that Sen. Cruz is among the most unpopular members of the Republican Party. The political media of record will watch closely how Sen. Cruz handles this situation and will pounce at the slightest misstep.

PREPARE FOR THE ATTACKS

The Cruz Team needs to get ready, because this is going to leave a permanent tattoo if mishandled.

Here’s a rough sketch of what the attack on Sen. Cruz could look like:

TITLE: SUNSHINE TED OFF TO THE BEACH … TEXANS OUT IN THE COLD

(Narrator)

TEXANS ARE FREEZING …

LIVES ARE SHATTERED …

TIMES ARE HARD…

IT’S A COLD, COLD WORLD TODAY IN TEXAS …

…. BUT NOT FOR SUNSHINE TED CRUZ.

… HE SLIPPED OFF TO TROPICAL CANCUN FOR SOME TIME OFF.

(AUDIO: WHITE STRIPES LAZARETTO)

… AND LEFT TEXANS OUT IN THE COLD.

CRUZ GOT CAUGHT IN CANCUN … WHEN HE SHOLD HAVE BEEN ON THE JOB.

CALL SEN. CRUZ: TELL HIM TEXAS NEEDS AN STAY-AT-WORK SENATOR …

ONE WHO’S READY FOR DUTY WHEN A CRISIS HITS. TELL TED: TEXAS NEEDS HIM, NOW! THERE’LL BE TIME TO PLAY, ANOTHER DAY!

THIS IS OUR POLITICS

While it is tiresome for many, politics will never end. It is the day-to-day grind of the accumulation and exercise of power in the creation of public policy. Like songwriter Pete Seeger said in his classic, Turn, Turn, Turn, inspired by Ecclesiastes 3:1–8:

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven

Until the day when ads like the sketch above hit the airwaves, let’s remember our family, friends, and fellow neighbors in Texas and support, however we can, people working to ensure they are safe, sheltered in a secure place, and have access to assistance and necessities.

Ryan Banfill is a veteran public affairs and communications consultant. He is the founder of The Message Clinic, providing concierge communications services for influencers. Contact him at Ryan@MessageClinic.com