Sen. Ted Cruz

(Mario Piperni)

How big a liar is Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)?

A full 54 percent of Ted Cruz's statements have been rated "false" or "pants on fire" by PolitiFact. Another 20 percent are only "half true." That's 74 percent of Cruz's statements failing the truth test.

We're used to politicians lying to us, of course. But the frequency of Cruz's lies is actually staggering. Compare Cruz's 74 percent lying rate with Rick Perry's 48 percent and John Cornyn's 56 percent. Cruz is in rarified company with Michele Bachmann as one of this country's biggest political liars. Whenever Ted Cruz opens his mouth, there's a 3/4 chance he's lying.

Lying, of course, is mostly what Ted Cruz is known for. He's made a name for himself with McCarthy-ite accusations against Chuck Hagel, paranoid fantasies about our government shutting down golf courses and building "hobbit homes," deliberate Medicaid distortions, and general obstructionism.

And that ain't no lie.

That's from Burnt Orange Report, and no, it's not a lie. And if it's an exaggeration,... it doesn't seem to be much of one.

First of all, Politifact isn't rating every Ted Cruz statement, obviously. But right now, they list 15 specific statements by Cruz. Eight of those are completely untrue (with half of them so false they get the "pants on fire" designation).

That's 53.33%, so not quite 54%, if that comforts any Cruz fans. Another three are "half true," which is the same thing as "half false." Together, they make up more than 73% of the total.

Only four of Cruz's statements are labeled "true" or "mostly true." That's almost 27% - not a good record, I'd say.

Admittedly, he beats Michele Bachmann, who's been on the political scene a lot longer, and so has more statements to rate. Only 16% of her statements are rated "true" or "mostly true" by Politifact. Really, you should be able to beat that just by accident, don't you think?

And a whopping 61% of her statements are flat-out lies, with a full 25% so egregious they get that "pants on fire" designation. Cruz isn't there yet, not quite, but give him time. That's clearly what he's aiming for.