Ted Cruz Explains How GOP is the Party of 'The Simpsons'

Ted Cruz said Democrats were the party of Lisa Simpson, and that the GOP was the party of Homer, Bart, Maggie and Marge ... now he's explaining how so.

We got the TX senator Monday at Reagan National Airport in D.C. and asked him to elaborate on the comment he made last week at CPAC, which drew ridicule left and right.

Cruz offers a VERY thorough explanation into why each character -- sans Lisa -- represents Republican values and mirrors the traditional American family. Our question ... he reachin'?

One of the voice actors on the cartoon show clearly thinks so. We got Harry Shearer over the weekend, and he thought Cruz was way out of his element tying conservatism to Springfield.