U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz smirks from the stage at a 2019 event hosted by conservative group Turning Point USA. Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Gage Skidmore

It’s hard to tell whether U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, suffers more from a lack of a filter or a lack of any sense of shame.

Either way, Cruz went on Fox News Tuesday morning to blast Democrats in the Texas Legislature for jetting to Washington, D.C., in a bid to kill off a GOP-backed bill that would make it harder to cast ballots in the state.

Of course, Cruz’s complaint comes less than six months after he faced withering criticism for fleeing the state during February’s devastating ice storm so he could take his family to balmy Cancun. An estimated 700 of his constituents died during the disaster.

In remarks to Fox, Cruz attempted to seize on the “irony” of Democrats being required to present ID to get on their planes while not wanting to expand ID requirements for the voters they represent.

“What you’re seeing the Democrats do here is a political stunt,” Cruz told Fox, arguing that the lawmakers are against strong election security. “This is at the end of the day politics, and they need to get back to doing their jobs.”

Voting-rights groups would dispute Cruz’s claim. They have repeatedly argued that the proposed restrictions aren’t based in election integrity but rather an effort to make it harder for people of color and other likely Democratic voters to get to the polls.

By midmorning Tuesday, plenty of Twitter users also noted the Cruz’s comments dripped with an irony of their own.

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Sanford Nowlin is editor-in-chief of the San Antonio Current. He holds degrees from Trinity University and the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his work has been featured in Salon, Alternet, Creative...