Posted on 09/20/2013 3:37:47 AM PDT by nikos1121
Even among Republicans, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is one of Washington’s most divisive figures. Activists love him, but leadership staffers and many of his colleagues can’t stand him — especially his latest effort to connect a government-spending bill with the defunding of Obamacare. After a Senate luncheon on Tuesday, several Republicans told me they’re tired of Cruz’s campaign, and one senator, after rolling his eyes, called it a “Passion play.”
The internecine tensions spilled over to the House on Wednesday, when a group of Republicans knocked Cruz on Twitter for appearing to back down from the defunding fight. Speaker John Boehner had just decided to bring a Cruz-inspired bill to the floor, and instead of rallying the Senate, Cruz issued a statement that left the burden of defunding Obamacare squarely on the lower chamber. “Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so,” Cruz said. “At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people.”
Of course, Cruz’s acknowledgement of the near-impossibility of passing a defunding bill through the Democratic-controlled Senate is an accurate reading of political reality. But House Republicans didn’t care; they were apoplectic with Cruz not only for laying the responsibility for defunding on them, but for making them seem weak. “If Cruz doesn’t help us in the Senate to pass a defunding bill, we’ll end up having to pass a normal CR,” complains a veteran House Republican. “It’ll be pathetic, but I expect him to slam us for it.”
House insiders say a handful of House Republicans cursed Cruz in the cloakroom on Wednesday, and a leadership source says angry e-mails were exchanged among GOP staffers who consider Cruz to be a charlatan. “Cruz keeps raising conservatives’ hopes, and then, when we give him what he wants, he doesn’t have a plan to follow through,” an aide fumes. “He’s an amateur.” Another aide says, “Nancy Pelosi is more well-liked around here.”
Cruz, however, tells me House Republicans are wrong to be infuriated. In an interview, he says his goal was never to whip together votes in the Senate for a defunding bill; it was always to inspire a grassroots uprising that would rattle Congress and President Obama, and hopefully defund Obamacare.
“I’m convinced there is a new paradigm in politics — the rise of the grassroots,” Cruz says. He cites Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster on drone policy, and the debates on Syria and gun control, as recent examples of how an “overwhelming” number of phone calls and e-mails from constituents can force the president to buckle.
“And on Obamacare, I’ve said, from the start, that if typical Washington rules apply, we can’t win this fight,” he explains. “If the forums in which we make this case consist of the smoke-filled rooms of Washington, the votes aren’t there. The only way this fight will be won is if the American people rise up and hold our elected officials accountable.”
Cruz says he “salutes” Boehner and House Republicans for moving forward with a vote on defunding, but he stands by his belief that one vote this week isn’t enough. “When I say the House needs to stand strong, it’s because the fight will be won or lost in the House of Representatives,” he says. “I can’t win this fight, and Mike Lee can’t win this fight,” but he believes the House GOP can.
Cruz’s advisers agree, and Chip Roy, his chief of staff, has pushed back hard against Cruz’s House critics. “Senator Cruz is doing what he said he would do when he came to Washington,” Roy tells me. “He promised to do everything he can to stop Obamacare before it begins hurting real people and further harms our economy.”
“His staff is working with whomever we can to achieve that goal, including House and Senate staff,” Roy adds. “For every story about a staffer grumbling behind the scenes, there are dozens of staffers who tell us how excited they are Senator Cruz is standing up to business as usual.”
For the moment, though, the divide between Cruz and his fellow Republicans is growing. House Republicans will pass their defund-CR bill on Friday, and it will head to a quick death in the Senate. Cruz may shrug off his detractors, but as the deadline for government funding nears, he has become a top target — not just for Democrats, but also for Republicans who want to pin the mess on him.
— Robert Costa is National Review’s Washington editor.
Thanks for posting that.
First time in almost 10 years I made it to the side bar!!!!This is fixin to be a good day!
I can't help but wonder if he really despises Sean Hannity, the man without a college degree, the outsider at Fox News who's been moved away from O'Reilly's hour, so Bill can be surrounded by his fawning fems.
O'Reilly sees himself totally right in wanting American blood to be spilled to protect Obama's credibility in Syria. He sees Assad as evil, but the other side doesn't count.
He absolutely bitterly opposed any talk to defund ObamaCare.
He staunchly supports gay marriage, adoption, and agenda.
His platform enables him to spread his blather.
Outstanding. Better yet, go to the site and write a comment supporting Cruz. I wrote a couple myself. Occasionally, we have to preach outside the choir.
Who believes these ObamaBot reporters and their “unnamed sources? They are doing their best to divide the GOP. Of course, the fossilized Republicans do hate the conservatives who shake up their little domaine, so they try to buy the praise of the Leftist media by feeding them this garbage anonymously.
As I told Newt. When you go down this path you are all in. There is no retreat. No money until they break. That said, I support gov’t shutdown 150%. Pass it and walk away until the libtard s scream for mercy.
Heheheh... Ol’ Teddy is stirring the sh*tpot with a giant stick, and the Bluebloods are HATIN’ on him for it!!!
Go Ted, Go....
But they are weak, especially in leadership. And perhaps the next time some ball-less Republican senator rolls his eyes when discussing the clearly expressed will of the American people, some one will use his fingers to make the point.
I’m set to Cruz control.
The Big Government Republicans hate Mike Lee and Ted Cruz even more than the Dhimms hate them. After all, the Dhimms don’t pretend to be “conservatives” and Lee and Cruz are forcing the Republican elites to now act conservative.
Lee and Cruz have put the establishment cockroaches in the hot seat and they resent it tremendously. Having finally put enough pressure on Boehner/Cantor to at least pretend that they are fighting ObummerCare, and Cruz having painted a realistic picture of what will likely happen in the Dhimm controlled Senate, now the Establishment Republicans are coming out of the woodwork to accuse Cruz of backpedaling.
It’s hilarious to see these Big Government Republicans attach Cruz for retreating when it took him and Mike Lee to drag their sorry tails to a point where they are having to fight.
I saw in an article this morning it was 8.
LLS
Beautifully stated and I agree with you 100%!
What site are you talking about NRO?
I now call myself a ‘Ted Cruz’ republican on Twitter. He has a lot more support from the grassroots than the elites think...lol.
Exactly. If they take such umbrage to Cruz' brashness, one would think they'd be proud to make themselves known so as to ingratiate themselves with the "media." These purported repubs are probably the usual suspects... McCain, Graham, Corker, Alexander and other "Get-along Gang" GOP-E types.
Screw those quisling bastards... we've played their game long enough, and to what end?? If defunding Obamacare results in a governmental shutdown and it mortally damages the GOP, then the inevitability of the establishment of a new conservative party moves forward on the calendar.
STFU, LAURA and the rest of you....go after the DEMOCRATS!!
We ALWAYS have a CIRCULAR FIRING SQUAD...ALWAYS....That's why we are in the shape we are in!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.