Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) just wrapped up his 21-plus-hour speech against Obamacare.
Near the end, he offered this whopper: “Now in 31 minutes we will be concluded,” Cruz said. “I don’t want to miss the opportunity with in the limited amount of time is imperative that I do, which is to thank the men and women who have endured this, this Bataan Death March."
How about finding and thanking some people who survived the actual Bataan Death March?
As Andrew Kaczynski of BuzzFeed notes, "U.S. government totals say 12,000 American troops were forced to march up the east coast of the Philippines to Camp O’Donnell which would serve as a prisoner of war camp. Many died on the way because of beatings, executions, and malnutrition."
Near the beginning of his speech, Cruz almost reflexively compared himself to Americans facing down Nazis and the British during the Revolution.
On the other hand, though it is often cited jokingly following particularly tedious or lengthy undertakings, the Bataan Death March is an understandably questionable reference.