Posted on 10/04/2013 10:13:17 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The tea party senator and his allies campaigned on the promise to revolutionize Washington — so why is everyone so surprised they’re trying to do it?
And on the third day, Ted Cruz looked upon his creation, and he saw that it was good.
Yes, Congressional negotiations had devolved into a manic game of finger-pointing that centered on cancer-patient gaffes and pitched battles over war memorials; hundreds of thousands of federal workers had been sent home without paychecks; and Republicans were continuing to cling stubbornly to a list of extraordinary demands that Democrats flatly refuse to entertain. With the country careening haplessly toward potential fiscal calamity, the most powerful governing body in the free world had ground to a halt.
But the Tea Party Senator from Texas saw meaning in the madness. One of the primary authors of the chaos consuming Washington, it was Cruz and his audacious campaign to #makeDClisten and dismantle the Affordable Care Act that first set the government on course for a shutdown. Now, even as he endures scolding from his Senate elders and panicked second-guessing from his skittish colleagues, Cruz makes no apology for his government-breaking crusade.
This, after all, is exactly what voters sent him to Washington to do.
“When I ran for office I promised Texas voters that I would do everything possible to stop Obamacare, and that’s a commitment I’m working very hard to honor,” Cruz told BuzzFeed. “My top priority is restoring jobs and economic growth, and Obamacare is causing millions of American to lose their jobs or not be hired, to be forced into part-time work, to pay skyrocketing premiums, and to lose or risk losing their health insurance.”
“In the past few weeks, we have engaged in a national debate about the enormous harms caused by Obamacare — all because millions of Americans have spoken up and held our elected officials accountable,” he said.
Many of those elected officials do not appreciate Cruz’s antics. They call him a spotlight hog, or an “anarchist,” or a “wacko bird.” But amid all the criticism he and his Tea Party cohorts have received from veteran Washingtonians over the past three years, the underlying sentiment has always been a profound distaste for their unwillingness to conform, to act reasonably, to operate within the tried and true bounds of responsible governance.
As the government shutdown wore on this week, some of the most conservative lawmakers in Congress — as well as the army of ideological aides they command on the Hill — told BuzzFeed that their critics still don’t understand their mission. The Tea Party didn’t come to Washington just to turn the dial a few degrees to the right, or make a couple of symbolic spending cuts. They came to revolutionize the way This Town works — starting with Obama’s healthcare law. And if that means taking big, dramatic risks, or upending traditional policy-making procedure, or slaying a herd of sacred cows standing in the way, so be it.
“I think we have changed the conversation, I don’t think we have changed Washington enough,” said Idaho Republican Rep. Raul Labrador, who entered the House of Representatives during the 2010 Tea Party wave. “I think the American people understand that we came here to make sure there was less deficits, less spending, and we want a strong nation that has growth. I feel we have changed the way things are done here.”
None of the Republicans interviewed defended the government shutdown, and they all blamed Obama for refusing to negotiate with them. But they were also adamant that they couldn’t simply cave to Democrats and pass a funding bill without any concessions. They described the problems facing the country — and the progressive policies Obama has implemented — in terms of urgency, insisting that the state of affairs is dire enough to necessitate bold, controversial action on their parts.
“We’re $17 trillion in debt,” said Tea Party Rep. Tim Huelskamp. “We’re slowly making progress. We’ve held the line on certain levels of spending — and here is an opportunity to continue to make progress.”
If some on the GOP’s right wing seem insufficiently alarmed that they’ve contributed to the first government shutdown in nearly two decades, it’s probably because they always knew radical action might eventually become necessary.
From its genesis in 2009, the Tea Party movement has been fueled by the rhetoric of revolution. True believers attend rallies unironically dressed in colonial garb. Their early organizers preached earnestly from Saul Alinsky’s left-wing activist handbook Rules For Radicals — a book that advises just the sort of procedural disruption they’ve imposed this week. And while Nevada Senate candidate Sharon Angle outraged mainstream political observers when she suggested people may start looking for “Second Amendment remedies” to the country’s problems, one recent survey showed that nearly half of Republicans believe armed insurrection might be necessary “in the next few years.”
Data points like those have long been Democrats’ bread and butter as they work to cast the Tea Party as “extreme.” But they also show just how extreme conservatives consider America’s current peril to be. To believe an armed revolution could realistically be on the horizon is to live with the genuine suspicion that your government could, at any point, be overtaken by tyranny. In that context, some temporary furloughs seem like a small price to pay.
That isn’t to suggest that many of the Republicans on Capitol Hill are stockpiling ammunition in preparation for a popular uprising. But on a somewhat smaller scale, many Tea Party lawmakers view Obamacare as such a catastrophic threat to the country’s healthcare system and long-term economic health that it’s worth the high-stakes legislative brinksmanship to try to slow it down.
At least, that’s what they hear when they return to their districts.
“You hear back home, ‘You guys never stand up to the Democrats, or you won’t fight,’” said South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, who won a special election earlier this year with Tea Party support. “And again, not going into the merits or demerits on the strategy, there’s a belief within the [Republican] conference that people are trying to stand up in a way they haven’t in the past. And a belief from the folks back home that’s finally being done.”
Texas?
Throw Bammy into the Potomac.
Because the Dems and their propaganda arm do not believe Repubs will do what they say. After all, everyone knows they usually fold rather quickly after making some lukewarm statements.
Yes, Congressional negotiations had devolved into a manic game of finger-pointing...
Because the Repubs did not fold as usual and the Dems and the "news" media are bewildered by it all. They figure the Repubs just need to be shown who is Boss and they will go back to being the nice little spineless critters and let the Dems have their way.
NO MORE!!!!
Boehner is putting on a show right now to take the flag of leadership from Cruz but they (RINO LEADERS) don’t have any real fight in them because we are headed for an eventual cave of some sort.
The grassroots can hold their feet to the fire and push them to keep fighting but at some point the white flag goes up.
The political machine does not know how to fight a winning battle because they believe such an all out fight is not supported by public opinion.
When it came to civil rights, John Kennedy did not come out full bore for it until the sights of water cannon and dogs aimed at teenagers protesting in Birmingham (May 1963) shifted public opinion on race dramatically.
Reading the comments at Buzz Feed they think they are still in charge they have no idea of shite storm coming their way. Armed insurrection they speak like it is fiction and some big bad liberal force will save them. Truth is the majority of LOEs and military are not on the left side and when and if the shooting starts it will end quickly.
What Good Can a Handgun Do Against An Army?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/2312894/posts
Most assassinations, mob hits, executions, wet-work, etc. is done with the .22. People tend to forget that a small caliber weapon is still a deadly thing.
The inept campaigns by McCain in 2008 and Romney in 2012 and the GOP's unwillingness to strongly confront Obama led to a widespread sense that the fight had gone out of the Republican establishment -- at least as to fighting the Democrats. The GOP establishment was eager though to mobilize and crush insurgent conservative candidates who challenged establishment favorites.
Cruz and his allies understand that if the GOP is to survive, it must energize its base by fighting the Democrats with as much energy and determination as is directed against the GOP. No longer can GOP members of Congress be well-paid time servers waiting and hoping that the political winds shift their way and deliver them into power. They need to fight for their declared political principles, and if they do not, the GOP may not survive.
Remarkably, even as the shutdown grinds on, the House GOP caucus seems to be firming up in their morale and willingness to do battle. They are taking a beating in the news media but getting hurrahs from the GOP base. The GOP members are still wearing Guccis and well-tailored suits (or pants suits), but they do seem to have a bit of fighter pilot swagger now.
The battle may break the GOP's way if the Obamacare rollout fizzles, Obama's poll numbers decline, Democratic constituencies start feeling and complaining about the effects of the shutdown, and polling shows that the shutdown costs them their chance at regaining the House and menaces Democratic control of the Senate.
There are signs that these things are beginning to happen. The GOP needs to continue the fight as long as victory is possible. If events and public opinion do not go the GOP's way, the well-trod path of ignominious Republican surrender will always be available.
The truth is that this ‘shutdown’ outside of a bunch of Democrat media publicized closings for parks, memorials, government union bitching, etc. isn’t really affecting real America that much.
I drive around my small town and it is business as usual for those that actually work and produce tangibly beneficial products.
This is what Boehner, McCain, McConnell and all the rest of the dinosaur GOP leadership just cannot ken. They are oblivious to daily “America, Inc.” They are mistakenly consumed with what “America.org” is over exaggerating.
The tea party senator and his allies campaigned on the promise to revolutionize Washington — so why is everyone so surprised they’re trying to do it?
“And on the third day, Ted Cruz looked upon his creation, and he saw that it was good.” Why this sentence? Are you saying Ted Cruz is like God? I couldn’t read past this absurd statement.
Thanks 2ndDV for posting this, and also your other posts. You always find thought provoking articles. Thank you for your service.
WAD, perhaps the expression relating to the third day relates to the first three days. In the creation account, forming order from chaos, it was the physical environment that was changed/modified (1. Light v darkness; 2. Heavens v. Earth; 3. Land v seas). I think it is more an expression that Cruz’ strategy has caused massive, colossal changes to the terrain of Washington. I still maintain that it is a master-stroke and is genius. He (and Mike Lee) have ignited forces far greater than what one man could do alone. It is brilliant, as long as the House stays firm.
Gwjack
Frankly, I'm surprised that these measures haven't yet been used against those in the media and government who are working so assiduously to gut the Constitution and "fundamentally transform" this country.
“And on the third day, Ted Cruz looked upon his creation, and he saw that it was good.” Why this sentence? Are you saying Ted Cruz is like God? I couldn’t read past this absurd statement.
It is written as satire by the “progressive” who is mocking Ted Cruz in the article.
An excellent, concise summary. This is what the mainstream media, and Democrats in general, fail to understand: the conservative insurgency is not a reaction to Obama per se. It began under Bush.
oh yes they do.....When it comes to being re-elected they will do anything!.....as far as making a stand on ideals and principles that got them elected..they'll give them up in a heartbeat to gain a few votes...
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