In Your Face Street Artist SABO & Outspoken Pol Ted Cruz: Brothers in Badassery
He likes to shout on Facebook in ALL CAPS. He likes to use the F-word. A lot. He thinks a LOT of people are stupid. I’m talking about avant-garde LA street artist SABO. His most recent work, a poster of Ted Cruz timed to coincide with the Texan Senator’s appearance in Beverly Hills, depicts the Senator heavily festooned with tattoos and… nothing else. Not a stitch. Naked Ted Cruz. Nekkid. The artist confided that it was the only part of the poster that made him feel a bit squeamish. The Senator OBVIOUSLY wearing no pants, but SABO gave it a “What the f*ck!” and went with it.
The poster could seemingly hail from anywhere. The Right OR the Left. Could it be lampooning Cruz’s arrogant trail-blazing? Or championing his fearless badassery as a newbie Senator? A talk with SABO points to the latter. He likes what he sees in Ted Cruz… so far. It’s only been a short time that Cruz has been on the national stage. While leaving very little to the imagination of what his fictional Ted Cruz is “made of” SABO declares, “We will SEE what this guy is made of.” In a less literal sense. Heart and soul instead of skin.
No Publicity is Bad Publicity
From SABO’s Facebook page, Unsavoryagents, we learn about his relationship to this piece of art and the subject. Although Cruz signed a copy of the poster, “The fight for liberty never ends…” the two have not had a sit down chat and are not friends or pals.
“MY PARTY FEARS ME BECAUSE I’M A STRAIGHT OUT WILD MAN… I AM THE TRUE REBEL IN LOS ANGELES.
“SO THE QUESTION IS, IF THIS POSTER TAKES OFF AS A RALLYING CRY FOR CRUZ WOULD I FEEL AS RESPONSIBLE [as Shepard Fairey for the iconic (ironic?) Obama Hope poster] IF HE GETS ELECTED AND TURNS OUT AS BAD AS OBAMA? A LITTLE, HOWEVER, I DID THIS POSTER BECAUSE SENATOR CRUZ HAS THE STRENGTH TO GO TOE TO TOE WITH THE RHINOS IN WASHINGTON AND THAT WAS ENOUGH FOR ME DO THIS PIECE.
“ANOTHER DIFFERENCE WILL BE THAT IF HE IS ELECTED I’LL HOLD HIS FEET TO THE FIRE.” ~SABO
Cruz’s reaction couldn’t have been more perfect if SABO had scripted it himself. With his characteristic “Bring it!” attitude (remember how he embraced the label and announced he was PROUD to be a Wacko-bird?), the Senator tweeted this.
Saw this, but noticed an error. So I wanted to make one thing clear: I don’t smoke cigarettes http://t.co/3nn2740kkP pic.twitter.com/tPFNqg9vu8
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 15, 2014
Do It With Fire & Passion or Stay Home
What lights the fire under SABO? One-word answer: politics. About his passion for politics, SABO asked rhetorically, “Why did Mozart play the piano?” The fascination with politics is IN him, in every fiber of his being, needing no further explanation. “Art is art. People think that art is smoking pot, having sex with liberal chicks, and cutting your ears off. Not only do I do art, but I tell people to f*ck off.”
“Ted Cruz is an uncompromising ideologue,” Carol Felsenthal said in a March 2013 article. One year later, Cruz bucks the system to stay true to his promises, “I told Texans when I ran for office that I’m going to fight with every ounce of strength to help this country… I meant it! … if we wait on the entrenched politicians in Washington to make the case to stand up, Hell will freeze over before that happens.” (Listen at marklevinshow.com 2/13/14)
God Helps Those Who Help Themselves
SABO does what he does. He doesn’t ask if he is ALLOWED to do it. He doesn’t get a permission slip signed or offer the power of final approval to anyone else. On his website, SABO says, “I didn’t ask for Senator Cruz’s permission or blessing to create this poster.” While campaigning for Senate, Cruz blared, “I’m running to kick down the door, tear down the curtains, and auction off the silver.” When debating Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Second Amendment, Cruz stated flatly, “I would note that she chose not to answer the question that I asked.” Burn.
SABO: “There was no place I could go where I wasn’t punched in the face by some sort of art defining who I was for being a Republican. Evil, Bigotted, Homophobic, Out of Touch, Rich, Greedy, on and on. And then I snapped. Why was the Left allowed to define me and where are the dissenting voices from the Right setting the record straight? … I guess it’s just going to have to be me.” Both men aren’t waiting around for someone to give them a green light, a signal that it is THEIR turn now. Their turn is right now, all the time.
To Thine Own Self, Be True
SABO opines that you’ve got to be true to yourself. “It takes a lot to find yourself at this place, where you are your own man.” About the haters and nay-sayers? “Stop trying to make them love you! Quit seeking love!” If they love and praise you, you must be doing something that furthers THEIR agenda. He’s not trying to be combative. Anyone doing ANYTHING should understand: you won’t be loved. Not universally, and some of the love you DO get will be insincere. SABO, like Cruz, is beyond needing love and approval. (Check out Ted Cruz and the word “hate” on Twitter. Hasn’t slowed him down a bit.)
SABO is focused. He wants to help the Right, who has a great message but is woefully inept at conveying it to the genpop. The Right needs to mobilize more creative and innovative people to craft the message. “There’s no one to tell our story. The only voice you hear is from the Left.” SABO explains that the Left does “a damn fine job making us look like assholes and what do Republicans do about it, NOT A DAMN THING!!!” When he would spend time with his friends raising children, living a mostly Conservative lifestyle, he would wonder, “WHY are you letting the Left fill the eyes, ears, and hearts of our children? Are you not plugged in, not present? Why have we been asleep for so long?”
Wake Up!
Let’s watch SABO’s art unfold over the next few years (ahem, 2016) and not just watch, but BUILD something of our own. May he be joined by many bold and fearless message makers who live by this mantra:
“There might be some serious fun in politics.” ~Hunter S. Thompson
Images reproduced here with permission granted by the artist SABO
Find SABO at Unsavoryagents, The Right Kind of Rebels: Website, Facebook, Twitter
Written by: @VeryTari
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Note to Sabo: If he’s elected you will have lots of help holding his feet to the fire.
Yes, of course. All those people are holding Obama’s feet to the fire now. Oh, wait…
Great article on Cruz a SABO!
Reblogged this on Climate Ponderings.
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day.
It will always be interesting to read articles from other authors and use something from
their sites.