Posted on 09/29/2013 10:06:54 AM PDT by Kaslin
Even though his filibuster against Obamacare is no proof that Ted Cruz is a real conservative, he deserves much credit for doing what he did.
And his Republican opponents are equally deserving of criticism, for their response to Cruz’s “red line”—and to be sure, Cruz did indeed draw the proverbial red line—is most certainly proof that they are not the conservatives who they claim to be.
First, it is “limited government,” and the individual liberty that this entails, for which Republicans are supposed to stand. Obamacare, though, is perhaps the most glaring affront to limited government and individual liberty that this country has witnessed in a long, long time, and maybe even ever—no mean feat considering just how enormous is the federal government.
So, unless Republicans are willing to make every effort to resist Obamacare, it is safe to assume that they are insincere, that they aren’t really conservatives.
The counter-objection to this line of reasoning—that Cruz’s Republican critics reject his tactics, but not his goal—is disingenuous. This gets us to our next point.
Second, while it may very well be the case that each and every Republican would like to see Obamacare go the way of the dinosaur, this goes no distance in making it their goal. I’d like to produce three best-selling books this year, but unless I am taking steps toward transforming my preferences into reality, this cannot be said to be a genuine goal of mine. Unlike Cruz, his critics have done nothing so far to convince us into thinking that they are determined to repeal it.
In other words, it is far from obvious that his Republican detractors share even his goal.
Third, as for their “tactics,” even on their own terms, the anti-Cruz “wing” of the GOP just doesn’t sound credible.
Cruz, the McCains and others tell us, is a “wacko bird,” a “fraud,” a “grandstander,” and the like, because he knows that his effort to defund Obamacare is bound to fail. That is, Obamacare will not be defunded. A much more promising “tactic” is for the GOP to reclaim the Senate in 2014 and then, then—watch out!—Republicans will deal with Obamacare.
It stretches credibility to the snapping point to think that anyone, let alone those who study politics for a living, could buy this line for a millisecond.
For starters, it is anything but a foregone conclusion that Republicans will reclaim the Senate in 2014. And even if they do, they will not be able to take care of Obamacare, in any way, shape, or form, until at least two years after that, for as long as Obama is president, Republicans’ chances of defunding, much less repealing, Obamacare will be no greater than they are now.
In fact, they will be even worse.
By 2016, Obamacare will have been fully in effect for nearly two years. As anyone so much as remotely familiar with the trajectory of Big Government programs—and there is no bigger Big Government program than Obamacare—knows all too well, once a program begins to fall over a land, it is there to stay.
Translation: Cruz’s detractors’ “tactic” is far weaker than that which he has employed.
Fourth, for as hard as they are at work trying to depict him as a crass opportunist, even Cruz’s opponents know that his campaign to defund Obamacare and his 21 hour filibuster were beyond mere symbolism. After all, that Republicans unanimously vote, and vote repeatedly, against Obamacare proves beyond a doubt that they know as well as anyone all about symbolism. But not only did very few Republicans refuse to stand alongside Cruz; they made a point of denouncing him, of ridiculing him, and doing so in such Democratic-friendly venues as CNN and MSNBC.
Why? It should be clear that they recognized that unlike any other mere act of symbolism, Cruz’s stance against Obamacare required courage, for it comes at a cost.
Cruz upped the ante.
Finally, if it is juvenile, naïve, self-defeating, etc. to try to fight for an end that is not likely to come to pass, as the anti-Cruz forces now insist, then I suppose they would have to agree that those of their base who, say, voted for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan last year were juvenile, naïve, and or self-defeating. Most polls taken during the election season consistently indicated that Romney had little chance of prevailing over Obama. As it turned out, they were accurate.
While many conservatives did indeed refrain from voting for Romney, according to this logic, all of them should have.
For that matter, if, as polls suggest now, Hillary Clinton is likely to have a lock on the presidency in 2016, maybe none of us should even bother voting for her GOP rival—who ever this may be.
It's kind of a paramount one though. This and amnesty, together, destroy the nation. Fully. And quickly.
100% on your side, on this one.
All the rest too, I think.
I just (strongly) disagree on the matter of covering healthcare.
I think I’m just different on this issue.
Oh well.
Ideology aside for a moment. Is it even practical? How much is it worth to you? How much of your way of life are you willing to short to get this done?
I'd wager if this continues, unabated, we will see a VAT tax nearing 20% in relatively short period of time. It will be the only way to get the "subsidized" to chip in.
Then, then--life sucks. A cup of coffee goes to $8. Extrapolate that to everything. See Norway.
Destroy our economy in the process.
Just explaining is all.
I don’t know exactly how to explain my belief system. I have evolved, and mostly become more pro-American (less import-biased) recently.
I think we have vastly overdone imports. We need to bring back American manufacturing in a ton of industries.
Not sure what this means. I know I’m different from some other posters as a result, but I believe in my positions anyway.
All the best.
Just stop already. How about YOU lay out the perfect healthcare solution!
Oh wait, you said you LOVE obamacare. There you have it.
Respectfully disagree. If you didn’t vote for Obama, you were a secret racist. So, if you don’t vote for a woman, you are a sexist or equivalent.
That will be the meme pushed by the ‘Rats and the lame stream press.
It’s not just Benghazi...Obamacare was Hiliarycare in the 90s!!
That’s because insurance companies use costs across the board to establish premiums. If there were tort reform on a national level it would. Or better yet, let’s just get rid of insurance companies altogether. After all, those are the idiots who brought us Obamacare thinking they would make a fortune.
All we would need is some kind of catastrophic insurance plan and just pay for the everyday stuff ourselves. I wonder how much costs would drop if we did that.
That has to be one of the most diametrically opposed set of viewpoints I have ever heard from a person. You are comfortable with Obamacare and want jobs back in the US. The two are diametrically opposed to each other. More government control is precisely why companies are sending jobs overseas and you want more government control? No wonder this country is in the mess it’s in.
Cruz has real enemies...some out in the open...some lurking in the shadows.
He will make a fine president. No other Republican even comes close. NONE
I agree.
There is a competing proposal. Moreover, prior to ObamaCare we had the best healthcare in the world. What’s wrong with that?
<< I (strongly) support Ted Cruz, but ... Ted, you are doing great, but ... >>
Ted Cruz is doing exactly what Texans told him to do when we elected him and sent him to DC — Repeal Obamacare. And with all due respect, I don’t think many of us care if we have the approval of people from other states, nor do we care if his actions cause others to resent him. As long as he refrains from being corrupted by all that insidethebeltway filth, vermin, and MeMeMe attitude that’s in the Capitol building water fountains, and as long as he does what we sent him there to do, we’ll hoot and holler and send him dollars. :-)
<<”He will make a fine president. No other Republican even comes close. NONE” >>
From your fingers to God’s ears. Pray for him, our military, and our country.
Ted Cruz Ping!
If you want on/off this ping list, please let me know.
Please beware, this is a high-volume ping list!
H.R. 2300, Empowering Patients First Act of 2013, Introduced on Jun 06, 2013 by Rep. Tom Price [R-GA6] is the Republican answer to Ophonybamcare. There are 37 co-sponsors.
Check it out at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d113:HR02300:|/home/LegislativeData.php|
FairTax will bring jobs and business back to America.
See http://www.fairtax.org for more information and to find out how you can help.
See my post #57. H.R. 2300 replaces Ophonybamacare with market oriented health care legislation.
See my post #57.
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