The best word to describe Ted Cruz is demagogue. Both parties have them, but unfortunately for the nation, the ones on the right are considerably more likely to represent the conservative base of the Republican party as opposed to the ones on the left who are generally more marginalized within the Democratic party. They're also closer to being in positions of power within their own party and get more overall media attention. But don't be mislead. Despite the fawning attention conservative media outlets shower on Cruz and even though Cruz is the recipient of all kinds of RW adoration from the base of the Republican party, he's essentially loathed by his Republican Senate colleagues for committing one of the few remaining cardinal sins within the Republican party these days. While it's perfectly acceptable in conservative circles to place the interests of the Republican party above the interests of the nation as a whole, it's not considered okay to place your own personal interests ahead of both the nation AND your party, and that's what Cruz did with his threatened gov't shutdown back in 2013.