Posted on 12/19/2014 7:47:02 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Jerry Moran of Kansas was one of only 11 Republican senators who teamed up this month with tea party favorite Ted Cruz on three votes intended to stall or defeat the $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill — a failed but headline-grabbing maneuver that put him at odds with GOP leadership.
Moran’s move raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill, especially given that he’d spent the past two years as part of that same leadership team and had voted in January in favor of the last trillion-dollar spending bill.
So why did Moran buck the party line this time and align himself with the “Cruz caucus,” a rebellious right-wing voting bloc?
It might have something to do with the fact that he’s up for re-election in 2016.
Two years ago, Moran took on a high-profile role in the party leadership as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the GOP in the Senate.
Although he helped Republicans wrest control of the Senate from Democrats in November, some conservative activists in Kansas resented the part Moran’s committee played in thwarting tea party challenger Milton Wolf’s bid to oust incumbent Republican Pat Roberts.
They accused Moran of becoming part of the Washington establishment.
So when Moran joined Cruz, a senator from Texas, and 10 other Republicans last week — not only to oppose the omnibus but to delay a vote on the bill and support a constitutional point of order to protest the president’s executive action on immigration — conservatives in Kansas took note....
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
There's a lot of that going around ***Cough*** Thune **** Cough***
It’s comical to see how Cruz has these guys slapping each other silly!
Jerry asks ‘Hey Ted, can you save me a front seat in the Cruz-Mobile?’
The key to success in a legislature is not electing a majority (or super majority) that shares your goals, but rather convincing a majority (or super majority) that supporting your goals is in their political best interest.
The key words is Moran is up for re-election in 2016.
Does not take a rocket scientist to determine his motives.
But of course, that is for Kansasans to decide.
Go for it Jerry.
Very true and a lot of powerful politicians have learned different means to ‘convince’ others including methods of coercion, threats and payoffs.
What is refreshing about Cruz is he is a true believer who uses methods to convince based on positive principles and so easy for the public to grasp. This makes him credible and trustworthy. It’s a populist approach but it’s just what is needed for now.
Cruz for leadership in the Senate—he is smart and savy. He will go far and lead a new revolution to bring back Reagans America. watch what he will do with the pen and the phone.
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