credit Greg Nash
Posted on 02/15/2014 4:42:27 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
credit Greg Nash
Conservatives in Iowa and New Hampshire are preparing a hero’s welcome for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) after he showed up Senate Republican leaders during a crucial vote on the debt limit.
Cruz infuriated his Senate Republican colleagues this week when he filibustered a clean bill to raise the debt limit. His objection forced Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and 11 other Republicans to vote with Democrats to advance the legislation.
But in Iowa and New Hampshire, two important presidential primary states, conservative activists are cheering Cruz’s stand and buzzing about a possible presidential run in 2016.
Activists in the two states said they plan to show Cruz their appreciation when he visits in March and April.
“A tickertape parade,” said Steve Deace, a conservative radio host based in Iowa when asked what kind of reception Cruz will receive from activists next month.
“At this point with grassroots conservatives around the country it’s a close vote between who they distrust the most, the president, [Speaker] John Boehner [R-Ohio] or Mitch McConnell,” he said.
Ann Ray Trimble, a conservative activist in Iowa, said she and her allies are thrilled that Cruz took on his colleagues.
“It plays very well because the rank-and-file conservative in Iowa is a law-and-order person who believes, as Sen. Cruz stated in his objection, that the rules are the rules, the laws are the laws, and we need to follow them and not break them for political expediency.”
Cruz will speak on March 18 at a homeschooling rally hosted by the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators in Des Moines.
On April 12, he will attend the New Hampshire Freedom Summit, an event sponsored by Americans For Prosperity, a Tea Party-allied group, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, two other potential candidates for president in 2016.
Greg Moore, the state director of Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire, said conservative activists who will gather at the rally applauded Cruz’s action and want to see more transparency in Washington.
“They want to see people take a stand one way or the other. ‘Where do you stand on spending? How serious are you about spending?’ Fiscal issues are huge in New Hampshire,” said Moore.
“Our activists want to see a great deal of accountability,” he added. “They would look at any opportunity bringing accountability as positive for Sen. Cruz.”
Cruz’s Republican colleagues, however, did not appreciate his filibuster. They held a tense and angry meeting Wednesday afternoon at which McConnell proposed waiving the 60-vote threshold normally required to advance legislation, according to sources familiar with the session.
Cruz stood up and declared he would not let his fellow Republicans to escape responsibility for advancing the debt-limit bill. He said he would force at least five Republicans to vote with Democrats to overcome the procedural hurdle.
A Senate Republican aide described the meeting as “very contentious.”
Cruz further inflamed his colleagues by accusing them of trying to mislead the public after the vote.
“In the 13 months I’ve been in the Senate it has become apparent to me the single thing that Republican politicians hate and fear the most … is when they’re forced to tell the truth. It makes their heads explode,” Cruz told conservative radio host Mark Levin. “The Republicans members of the Senate, they all wanted the perfect show vote.”
“They should be totally pissed at him,” said Fergus Cullen, the former chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, when asked about the reaction of Cruz’s colleagues. “For him to do this after being in the Senate for one year, he’s obviously not preparing himself for a long career in the Senate.”
Cullen acknowledged that Cruz’s tactics would likely win over conservative activists but questioned whether he has come to be viewed by centrists as too far to the right.
“I do think objectively it probably plays pretty well to the base,” he said.
“What’s your long-term aim?” Cullen added. “Are you interested in getting elected nationally? All you’re doing right now is setting up a political career that will hit its ceiling very quickly, and it’s a pretty low ceiling.”
If Cruz were to win the GOP nomination in 2016, he would need resounding support from the party’s most conservative voters. He could face stiff competition from Paul and perhaps Huckabee, who won the Iowa caucuses in 2008.
Chip Saltsman, a Republican strategist who managed Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign, predicted Cruz would have a difficult challenge trying to explain his procedural moves in the Senate to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“At the end of the day Ted Cruz made McConnell have a 60-vote limit and the debt ceiling still passed. It’s not like he stopped the debt limit from being passed,” he said.
Cruz’s procedural tactics have angered his GOP colleagues throughout his short Senate career. They blasted him for waging a high-profile fight in the fall to link a government funding resolution to an effort to halt the implementation of ObamaCare.
He irked some of them in early 2013 by insisting, along with fellow Tea Party-allied conservatives, on a 60-vote threshold to proceed to a debate on gun control legislation.
Gun-rights advocates later credited Cruz for helping to defeat expanded background checks because the procedural vote offered a useful map of which Republicans might have been sympathetic to the Democratic reform proposal.
Cruz - American who support the Constitution and Equality
under the LAW
obama - an undocumented Indonesian, forced on America
by Pelosi and Soros, who hates the Constitution, and Law,
and had created “Holdering” (the widescale attack, rape
and destruction of innocent or elderly white people
aided by the DO”J” which has told them REPEATEDLY that
they are above, what was once, Law).
Well Earned.
I respect both of you but cannot understand this cheering for Cruz. I don’t understand it. He has about as much experience as Obama did when he became President and this is who we want? The guy has not had a single thing get through the House, Senate and signed into law. Sure he and Wendy Davis have the same experience with talking for 30 hours but accomplishing nothing. Why are people not getting behind Walker who is a Governor and has proved to get things done and even rise above adversity and even get reelected after a recall? I don’t get it. Why are we wanting another Obama clone in Cruz…..sure they don’t agree with each other but they both do nothing but talk. I just don’t get it.
Walker is great too. He has accomplished great things - but would have a tough time with a lack of “zing”.
Cruz, while only a very short time in office, is indeed an outsider and actually says, straight up, what we’re all craving to hear. And damn he can talk - debate anyone - which becomes easier when you just tell the truth.
Both would be good. No candidate is perfect but these two are close imo.
Cruz reminds me of Wisconsin’s Governor Walker. Walker said something like this, “I may not be here long but while I am here, I am going to do what ever it takes.....etc.”
I applaud Cruz for his tenacity. The Rhino’s need to be shaken and shaken hard. They fear Cruz might upset their cushy jobs and self sustaining ideas. No doubt he has other plans than the Senate. He needs to keep a close watch on his back. Nothing surprises me anymore.
No candidate is perfect but these two are close imo.
My biggest complaint with Cruz is his zero accomplishments. If he could just have one result, I would at least be more comfortable with him. I am just concerned that he does not have the ability to motivate and convince his fellow senators to pass laws. He should be able to convince the Democrats too which he has not been able to. I think that is why he is so weak. He is certainly no Reagan who was able to convince Democrats to go along with his beliefs. Heck even Bush could too. Cruz has not convinced on Democrat to vote his way.
He’s the next president. A cross between Ronald Reagan and John Wayne.
I think it behooves EVERY voter out there who is resigned to the mistaken idea that voting for the next best alternative is a good thing when it comes to RINOs.
Even the RINOs who have succeeded in maneuvering their ‘conservative’ records by emphasizing their “no” votes on liberal legislation. Most of the time, these are just ‘show votes’ which are pointless simple majority votes the KNOW they won’t stop. The time to have stopped them was the vote before that, forcing a 60 vote majority for cloture on the bill. They vote yes for that and no for the floor vote. DESPICABLE.
If you are considering voting for one of these traitors, don’t believe their ‘conservative’ ratings. Go look at the votes prior to the ones they are claiming are true to their constituents. RINOs are masters at this game.
I like him...
We did that to ourselves and ended up with McCain and we did it again and we ended up with Romney. Let the best man win because he is the best man not because he is the least worst.
To me, his most important accomplishment is that he is stirring the right to stop being an 0bama rubber stamp. This has the added benefit of identifying the gope [who are now in charge of money and committee assigns.]People crave that.
If he succeeds in overturning the R leadership to conservative, that would be huge to me. At that point, the many other like-thinking but less courageous would find the courage to fight 0bama and the dems too.
IMO the plan never was to defund 0bamacare or prevent the debt ceiling hike - although those outcomes would have been great. The plan was to fight at all to slow them down or even get something in return. It would have been so easy to turn down the debt ceiling increase unless there was a repeal of the cut to troops retirement or a prohibition on ins co. bailouts [risk corridors] or both.
So IMO Cruz HAS accomplished a lot albeit not legislatively.
Bravo. This seems to be a challenge for many.
Yeah. What he said.
Notwithstanding what he said... wouldn't it be cool if FR really DID pick the nominee?
It’s called standing on principal my friend... the best politician is one that endears himself to the people by standing on principal, not by playing politics to win the affections of other “witty” politicians and the low information voter.
Well you have a point. I just find Cruz to be Obama in many ways….the gift to gab and one term Senator. We used to forbid Senators from running or at least that was our hope. We need a Governor this time to win because we need someone who has accomplishments. But again you are right with your assessment.
Differing walks in life appeal to different people. Cruz has exactly been out
of the loop but has been involved in many different arenas.
Here are a few examples of his career.
Clerkships, 95-96
Private practice 97-98
Bush Campaign 99
Bush v Gore 2000
U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Federal Trade Commission 00-03
Solicitor Attorney General office - Tx 03-08
Private Practice 09-13
US Senator 13 -
I thought the idea was to STOP all this legislation and roll a lot of it back.
Re experience - Ted Cruz was the Solicitor General of Texas for 5 years pleading cases before the U.S. Supreme Court - very impressive record, you can review it here:
After that he was in private law practice. After Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison retired he fought what was believed to be a losing challenge to a shoo-in candidate for her seat. Yet he was sworn into office Jan 2013.
Reagan was willing to work with the Democrats and to compromise. I don't think Cruz can. If Cruz is elected president in 2016 the Democrats will spend the next four years blocking everything he tries to do.
Though he's not my choice for POTUS, Ted Cruz has chosen to help fill a political void left by the former Republican party's abdication and he's doing an excellent job keeping his promises to those who elected him.
For these things, he has maintained the respect he earned from me and is my hope for Senate leadership and to return the Senate to Constitutional governance.
I wish there were more like him in both houses.
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