O'Rourke with a crowd. Photo by Melissa Hennings

Amidst all the pious noise about "patriotism" engendered by McCain's death and the daft spectacle of our flags going up and down to honor it, here comes smarmy weasel Ted Cruz with a new ad dumbly deriding the thoughtful support for NFL protests voiced by his Democratic Senate opponent Beto O'Rourke. Asked at a town hall what he thought of those kneeling during the anthem, O'Rourke offered a nuanced, eloquent defense of their patriotism - “I can think of nothing more American than to peacefully stand up, or take a knee, for your rights, anytime, anywhere, or any place” - that quickly went viral. The moment embodied the yawning chasm between the candidates: Cruz, the racist lying douchebag everyone loves to hate, is funded by the NRA and oil industry, has crusaded for questionable causes - "First they came for Alex Jones" - and is an obsequious Trump supporter; O'Rourke, an affable, articulate Congressman from El Paso, refuses to accept PAC money and takes progressive stands he often backs up with touching personal stories.