Posted on 11/23/2014 4:48:16 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Sen. Ted Cruz is threatening to reprise his role as a catalyst to a government shutdown, arguing on Sunday that Congress should use spending bills to block President Obama's recent executive action on immigration.
Cruz rebutted suggestions that holding government funding hostage in order to prevent Obama's plan halting the deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants from taking effect would hurt the GOP.
"At the time you and a lot of folks in the press said what a disaster it was to stand up to Obamacare," Cruz told Fox News' Chris Wallace. "Let me point out, we just had a historic election where we won nine seats in the Senate, we retired Harry Reid, we just got the biggest majority in the House since the 1920s, and the biggest issue we campaigned on was Obamacare."
Cruz added: "Republicans need to actually do what we say we'll do.… It was not a mistake for Republicans to stand up and fight Obamacare."
Cruz specifically is advocating for Congress to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security, the agency charged with immigration enforcement. Obama may veto any funding bill that omits DHS, which would potentially set up another partisan clash that could spiral into another shutdown.
Some Republicans see such a tactic as foolhardy. Republican strategist Charlie Black told National Journal last week that a government shutdown would be a waste of time.
"It does not accomplish anything. You cannot get the president to make a concession," Black said. "Why even take a political risk if there is no achievable goal?"
Cruz is widely considered a chief architect of the shutdown last year, which lasted 16 days and prompted an indefinite furlough of some 800,000 federal employees after Congress failed to pass legislation appropriating funds for fiscal 2014.
Cruz also told Wallace incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should refuse to consider any of Obama's executive nominations "other than vital national security positions," which would include his new attorney general nominee, unless the executive action is rescinded.
/johnny
If it weren’t for the Bushes, Charlie Black would be living in a van down by the river.
Harry Reid shut it down last time
The temporary inconvenience of a government shutdown is trivial when compared to the recurring civil strife of Balkanization brought on by unlimited uncontrolled immigration.
Just include shutting off all sorts of White Hut funding - golf, arugula, kobe beef, Non- gov't lunches for 0bama's kids, etc.
What? And again show the country how many pies Big Gov has her hand in, yet can’t even run efficiently?
Talk is big about how bad the shutdowns were for Rs. LOL.
First, they weren’t bad.
Second, this time the media is pressing the same narrative b/c any shutdown WILL be bad _for Dems_ as 0bama would be very clearly the one choosing to not fund... the funding would have passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. LOL
exactly
it will be clearly be Obama’s shutdown
Cruz for president.
What a moron.
Of course Obama is not going to make any concessions.
The Republicans were not given a mandate to try to negotiate concessions with Obama
The Republicans were were given the mandate to shut Obama down any way possible because Obama can't be reasoned with, and because Obama will not make any voluntary concessions
Yeah Cruz shutdowns are great. Obama and Jarrett love them.
We can only dream of a prolonged government shutdown.
Simple solution, remove the WH fence and lose the secret service guards and instead, fly drones and run a virtual fence line around the WH.
Shutdown?
What a con-job this is.
The USCCB is calling for a government shutdown. That's enough to tell me that it's not a good idea. Not until there are measures put in place to ensure that a shutdown is actually a shutdown.
I could do with a few more shutdowns that kept more liberals from getting elected.
/johnny
... Or trusted.
What cannot be denied after this executive action, is that “comprehensive” legislation is a NON starter. obam as proved he will ignore portions of black letter law at his discretion. Any legislation giving authority for legalizing along with strenghening the border, will find the strengthening portions ignored under prosecutorial discretion. NO on the senate format for remedy. Piecemeal bills only, enforcement, guards, monitors, also remove judges and appeals from the process - streamline and get rid of judicial bottlenecks.
Refuse to fund, refuse nominations. Rinse and repeat.
Hell, most here APPLAUD it !
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