Exchange on the October 18 edition of Inside Washington:
Washington Post’s Colby King: “We’ve seen this story before, and it didn’t start in the ’60s. There was a guy named Joe McCarthy, who even railed on against his own administration, the Eisenhower administration. And he had a narrow base of support, but it was loyal there. And he went after an issue, and he was a demagogue. And this guy [Senator Ted Cruz] is a demagogue, too, but he’s winning — as Mark [Shields] has said — because the base that he’s got will keep him going, and they’ll put money behind him.”
Politico’s Evan Thomas: “He’s a lot smarter than McCarthy. In that way, he can be more dangerous.”
King: “Well, I don’t know if he’s smarter.”