Cruz Sets Confrontational Tone as Senate Debate Begins

WSJ ^ | September 24, 2013 | Janet Hook

[yoe]

The Senate plunged into debate over legislation to fund the government while cutting of money for the new health-care law, with both sides accusing the other of threatening to bring about a government shutdown.

[snip] Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) the leading proponent of the bill, set a confrontational tone by quickly proposing two motions he knew would be rejected — one to pass the House bill by voice vote, and another to block any amendments that do not command a super-majority of 60 votes.

Both were blocked by Mr. Reid, and Mr. Cruz said that showed he “is willing to risk a government shutdown.. in order to insist that Obamacare is funded.’’

[JRandomFreeper]

There's enough people calling Cornyn that his Dallas office # is busy, and ALL of his mailboxes are full. That's right now, as of this minute.

/johnny

[butterdezillion]

I think we need 41 Senators to vote against cloture in order to defund Obamacare. How many R’s do we have? Looks like 46. So no more than 5 R’s can vote for cloture.

If the phones aren’t being answered in DC maybe we need to congregate in numbers at our Senators’ local offices. Maybe we should do that anyway. Every R who hasn’t promised to vote against cloture needs to feel the heat. And by “heat” I mean the intensity. They need to know that we care enough to get off our duffers and make ourselves heard.

Any Nebraskans willing to show up with “Defund Obamacare” signs in Lincoln at Johanns’ office at 100 Centennial Mall N, and/or Deb Fischer’s office at 440 N 8th St Suite 120? Possibly tomorrow?

[KeyLargo]

Home » IBD Editorials » Obama Care »
Obama Care

Defunding Strategy Could Spell GOP Victories In 2014
9 Comments

Posted 09/23/2013 07:10 PM ET

Congress: Let’s applaud the steadfast Republicans pushing the “defund ObamaCare” strategy. Forcing Democrats to vote yet again on this costly, job-killing health reform will help defeat them next year.

Critics of the “defunders” — and there are smart, principled minds within their number — warn that Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah and the Tea Party Republicans in the House of Representatives are saving President Obama from his various failures and scandals.

That depends. Cruz is unfairly accused of having no endgame. Actually, he does, and he outlined it for RealClearPolitics.com. If Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid rejects the House bill, thus setting into motion “a government shutdown to force ObamaCare on every American,” then the House should respond not by approving another big bill funding the entire government, including ObamaCare, but by passing smaller government funding measures that withhold ObamaCare funding, “one at a time, starting with the military.”

The goal? “Dare Reid to keep voting to shut down the government.” And if “Senate Republicans unite, red-state Senate Democrats will be next. And that is how we win,” says Cruz.

As columnist Byron York points out, Cruz and his allies believe that if the Senate’s 46 Republicans stand together — as all GOP senators did on a toothless defunding measure in March — it will force Reid “to adopt a procedure that would require a 60-vote threshold to pass an amendment striking the defunding provision.” This “would allow Republicans, if they stay united, to stop Reid from taking out the ObamaCare provision.”

Despite Cruz’s cannibalistic savaging at the hands of fellow Republicans, this sharp former Texas solicitor general has two valuable things on his side. One is that in championing defunding of the (far from) Affordable Care Act, he is simply keeping a campaign promise his less courageous attackers also made...

http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-obama-care/092313-672197-gop-defund-strategy-keeps-focus-on-obamacare-flaws.htm

[Ann Archy]

Call Senators at their LOCAL OFFICES....and DEC....but you cab get through to the LOCAL OFFICES MUSCH EASIER!!

[GeronL]

bump

Imagine that an opposition party that opposes and fights.

[HenryArmitage]

Ted Cruz for Speaker of the House!
This.. actually is a very interesting idea. I have been told that their are no requirements that the Speaker of the House even be a representative in the House, much less that they cant be serving as a senator. He has already shown an ability to motivate a large section (majority of the majority?) to pass the CR currently in the Senate. Could an attempt at that position succeed?

[Safrguns]

I doubt it would be feasible... regardless of rules.

I WOULD like to know who Cruz considers to be his closest ally in the House... because THAT man needs to be speaker.

[ExTexasRedhead]

Senators like Boxer and Feinstein are like calling Eichmann and Goehring, IMO.

[ExTexasRedhead]

In my opinion, Reid is the perfect example of sewer slime.

[DoodleDawg]

Ted Cruz for Speaker of the House!

Wrong chamber.

[Bshaw]

And? One must not be elected to e Speaker, except by the members of the House of Representatives. You could be Speaker, if they elected you.

[Bshaw]

You don’t get a person or a voicemail box even for McConnell.

Gutless and lazy!