To place the potential for Late Show disaster inherent in the decision to invite Ted Cruz to the still-fresh couch at the Ed Sullivan Theater firmly in perspective, it's best to quickly remind oneself of the sheer volume of ridiculousness that often reverberates from the Texas senator's mouth. "In 9/11, I didn’t like how rock music responded," Cruz said earlier this year. "[But] country music collectively, the way they responded, it resonated with me." This is also the same guy who once compared Net Neutrality to "Obamacare for the Internet," though his greatest hits bricks certainly stem from his melodramatic and frustratingly counterproductive thoughts on the future of marriage equality.
Thankfully, certified American hero Stephen Colbert graciously took Cruz to task for nearly all of these policy stances. "Marriage is a question for the states," Cruz offered after Colbert hinted at the Republican hopeful's less-than-flattering thoughts on the Supreme Court's recent historical decision. "It doesn't mention marriage in the Constitution," Colbert responded, before Cruz eventually landed himself a nice round of boos.
Being the gracious man of the future that he is, Colbert quickly put a stop to the boos and asked for the audience's patience and respect. The brief but revelatory marriage equality debate was spurred by a previous conversation centered on the hypocrisy of Republicans' obsession with Ronald Reagan. "Reagan raised taxes," Colbert revealed to Cruz. "Reagan actually had an amnesty program for illegal immigrants. Neither of those things would allow Reagan to be elected today. So to what level can you truly emulate Ronald Reagan?" Though Cruz ultimately agreed that modern Republicans couldn't possibly agree with Reagan on those issues, he did manage to score some mild applause of his own near the end of his visit. "If you want to win an issue, go to the ballot box and win at the ballot box," Cruz told Colbert and his audience. "That's the way the Constitution was designed."
