Gun Owners of America head Larry Pratt is one of Texas senator Ted Cruz’s biggest boosters. Back in May, Pratt called the freshman senator “a real hero there that’s ridden into town from Texas” and ventured that he was “certain” that Cruz wouldn’t disappoint him. And the relationship works both ways: Cruz has nothing but praise for the gun group, and the New York Times has called him Pratt’s “key ally in the Senate.”
Cruz’s role in instigating the government shutdown has only intensified Pratt’s admiration for the senator. In a speech to a Pennsylvania Tea Party group last week, Pratt called House Speaker John Boehner a “sad sack” who has been “totally humiliated” because “everybody understands that Ted Cruz runs the United States House.”
Pratt also sang the praises of Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, principally because, according to Pratt, Lee was the one who first suggested that Cruz run for Senate.
Pratt is a big fan of the shutdown for a number of reasons. On the Talk to Solomon Show last week, Pratt applauded the shutdown of a huge portion of government services, saying, “Let’s just celebrate the fact that we’re only getting oppressed 57 percent of normal.”
