Posted on 09/24/2013 5:22:47 AM PDT by cotton1706
A curious moment happened on Fox News Sunday. Chris Wallace told Karl Rove that a number of Republicans in Congress had sent him opposition research on Ted Cruz once Fox announced Cruz would be on.
Rove responded. He said this was all happening because Cruz and Mike Lee had not worked out strategy in the regular Senate Republican Conference lunches on Thursdays. Rove said that was what was supposed to happen. Except that for a year now, Senate Republicans have routinely leaked the proceedings of those meetings to the New York Times and Washington Post in ways designed to harm Cruz, Lee, and others who side with them.
In fact, as one Senator noted in last week’s meeting, this would not be happening but for John Cornyn and Mitch McConnell choosing not to lead. Had Lee and Cruz approached their Senate colleagues, they would have been dismissed. I can say this confidently because it has happened repeatedly and since their election to the Senate their Republican colleagues have routinely taken to “on background” leaks assailing them.
I doubt Rove is that tuned out. He simply disagrees with their strategy and has been very vocal about how terrible he thinks it is. But the strategy is actually quite marvelous and Rove has to be smart enough to what is actually going on. Now it is time for everyone else to see the bigger picture.
Let’s be clear here — absent the American people lending a loud, clear voice for Cruz and Lee, the Republicans will cave. They will not stand with Cruz and Lee unless dragged kicking and screaming against their will. I hope they will. I hope a collection of House conservatives will stand strong and force the issue. But the majority of them will betray Cruz and Lee. In fact, Senate Republican Leaders have built up so much irrational hatred of Cruz, they want him to fail just so they can say they beat him — damn the Obamacare implications. Their pride comes before the nation.
Cruz only needs a few dozen Republicans in the House to stand firm to be successful. He might get that. But the bulk of the GOP in the House will try to cut a deal with the Democrats and move on.
That, in and of itself, is the brilliance of this strategy.
For several years now the Republican rhetoric against Obamacare has been vicious and savage. As more stories come in about the harmful effects the legislation will have on our economy, we learn that the Affordable Care Act is anything but and more Americans are losing full time jobs to it. Each news story causes Republican rhetoric to amp up and Republican fundraising petitions to start up. The GOP has made a mint off opposition to Obamacare and, ironically, now attack conservatives as being in this fight for the money. Takes one to know one, except these groups are not stopping. It is dawning on Republican leaders these groups actually, really believe in this fight.
Like a light switch flipping on, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are casting light on the scurrying of Republican roaches in and out of the Capitol. Republican congressmen and Senators are now openly attacking Cruz and Lee. Outside groups like Americans for Tax Reform and outside media interests like the Wall Street Journal are amplifying attacks made by the establishment GOP against conservatives. Lobbyists are up in arms.
Mike Lee and Ted Cruz are showing the leadership skills others have claimed for themselves and conservatives now see just how badly they’ve been played by their so called leaders and many outside groups that have hung for too long on the conservative label while really being affiliates of the Republican Party itself. Because of Lee and Cruz, polling against Obamacare is up and the GOP’s favorability is up.
Even more importantly, the Republican base’s willingness to get back in the game has gone up too in the aftermath of a bitterly depressing 2012 election that saw a good bit of disengagement by the base. Conservatives may see their leaders now as the pathetic lot they are, but they have also seen real leadership in Cruz and Lee. They’ve also found real voices on the outside like Heritage Action for America and the Senate Conservatives Fund with which they can engage for education and motivation.
John Cornyn sent out an email that he would be voting against any amendment to fund Obamacare. But his voters in Texas now understand Cornyn is playing them — voting to ensure Obamacare gets funded while voting against it. The base has learned the game and the base is sick of the game.
All the shots at Cruz from inside and outside Congress only strengthen his relationship with the grassroots.
But more importantly, and this is the bit the GOP and its media allies simply have not understood — the Cruz strategy would never work in and of itself. It required stronger, braver souls than the GOP currently has to offer. It does, however, throw such a light on these Republicans that it will make it both easier to challenge them in primaries and, more importantly, make it much, much harder for them to cooperate with the Democrats on Obamacare fixes. Win or lose, Cruz and Lee have boxed in both the Democrats and the Republicans into positions that will make it more difficult for them to nuance their way out of.
In short, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee have, whether they can muster the support or not in this round, ensured the GOP cannot begin collaborating with the Democrats to fix what the voters want repealed. And you can be sure that they would be working to fix it, despite all their rhetoric otherwise. You can be sure of that because Ted Cruz’s fight has proven just how empty their rhetoric really is.
Republican base voters have, for quite a while, distrusted their leaders. Now, thanks to Ted Cruz and Mike Lee, they know why and they know who, on the inside, they should be listening too.
Funny. Where is Juan McLame and Linda Graham on this issue? They are usually first to get to the cameras. Rove was just out-maneuvered by a better man than him. I saw Cruz’ interaction with Dingy Harry and thought Cruz had the tactics and arguments well laid out. With all the dirty parliamentary effluence used to PASS ObamaCare, I hope Cruz can use Harry’s rules jujitsu-style. The GOPe never misses and opportunity to miss an opportunity.
I like it!
Just wait until 2016 when Krauthammer, Kristol, Rove et al try to stick the GOP with someone like Jeb Bush. The TEA Party will stay home, and Hillary will be picking over the milquetoast remains of what is left of the Stupid Party.
When 70% of US citizens are praying for deliverance from ObamaCare, the Stupid Party wants to savage Cruz and Lee for their support for the wishes of the people over the grasp of Big Government. These pundits and pols are NOT conservatives and should be deposed from their phony perches in the movement.
Excellent article by Erick. The last sentence sums it up well.
Cornyn is getting savaged on FB for claiming he'll vote against Obamacare funding while playing the games. Cornyn is up for reelection next year.
ObamaCare is about keeping jobs in the medical field, and has nothing to do with Services (at this point). Education, Police/Fire/Security, and the Medical fields are the largest employers in the United States today. If the poor economy tanks, and insurance does not basically pay the salaries of employees, then the medical profession will lose jobs, and cycle continues. Central Planners, aka, socialists wet dream is ensuring a continuous stream of service sector jobs paid for by other employees. I am not a fan of Obamacare but at least see it for what it is, just as Obama “saved” the Automobile Industry, this is the same type of structured Bailout. Instead of Government buying the debt, it is being bailed out by Insurance Companies (The largest buildings in American both Banking or Insurance). It makes sense to structure the economy to keep 20% of the jobs. Again, I hate OC but it’s the economy that the democrats (and republicans) are tying to save - Why don’t they just say this?
You should do some more reading. We are in an intended depression, like the 30’s and the 70’s. None, I repeat, none of those in the leadership of either the House or the Senate are trying to “save” the economy. Their actions are to preserve their own power and pad their own pockets.
This overspending is intentional, and Obamacare is part of the overspending and in addition, it takes wealth out of the economy as businesses waste money and manhours figuring out how to meander through the enormous bureaucracy.
Traitor Cornyn’s Contact Info:
Washington DC
Washington, DC 20510
Main: 202-224-2934
Fax: 202-228-2856
Southeast Texas
Houston, TX 77007
Main: 713-572-3337
Fax: 713-572-3777
South Central Texas
San Antonio, TX 78205
Main: 210-224-7485
Fax: 210-224-8569
Central Texas
Austin, TX 78701
Main: 512-469-6034
Fax: 512-469-6020
East Texas
Dallas, TX 75244
Main: 972-239-1310
Fax: 972-239-2110
CALL HIS DISTRICT OFFICES—HE DOESN’T SEEM TO BE TAKING CALLS/FAXES AT HIS DC OFFICE!!
I believe that the Senators have been promised cushy jobs at the Insurance companies, and have no desire or plans to return to office.
I have seen a few of them of floated rumors they are going to “retire”.
Ted Cruz and Mike Lee are the only two Republicans in the US Senate who CONSISTENTLY make an effort to actually CONSERVE, in my humble, but usually correct opinion.
Therefore, use those two Senators to compare and contrast the present opponents to Old-Style Republican Cornyn.
My guess is that someone on the TEXAS PING list personally knows a superb future Senate candidate, cut from the same cloth as Cruz and Lee.
Yep, it is a dirty job, but we need to reach out to these future candidates, and ask them to run for Federal office for the good of their children, grandchildren and their descendants.
“What we have here, is failure to communicate.” ( Warden in movie “Cool Hand Luke.”)
We claim to be “Conservatives,” but what are we focused on Conserving?
Where are the men and women that are willing to be candidates to conserve what we want conserved?
The New Republican Party starts when YOU step up and act.
What has each of us done to encourage and recruit men and women to be candidates to conserve what is left of our State or Country?
How have we “failed to communicate?”
Bye Cornyn. All youdfid by playing that little game was ensure that you will not be re-elected.
Bye Cornyn. All you did by playing that little game was ensure that you will not be re-elected.
By now, Senator Cornyn should have been asked directly if he provided any information to Chris Wallace.
If not, that should be question #1 in any primary debate next year.
I am totally opposed to both a managed economy (ObamaCare) and the politicization of job growth, which is essentially what Obamacare is about. We first had QE1 (Bush-Obama family living room chat in December 2008 whereby Obama was given the first QE blessing from the outgoing president). Obama used QE1& QE2 to bail out the Auto Unions (under the guise of saving the Auto Industry), and Clean Energy (New Jobs and the utopian wet dream of clean sustainable energy paid for by taxpayers) at the expense of "affordable energy" (Coal, Oil, Liquefied/Natural Gas, Nuclear).
The economy is in a recession, the socialization of the country well underway, and the only real job sectors in America for the masses is in the Health Care/Medical, Education, and Police/Fire/Security (I'll throw the Military into this lightly).
Losing jobs in the medical field is not an option with the economy dying - transferring the employment responsibility to Insurer's (Heath Insurance) is the same as what the QE, QE1-3, and Present QE4 $85B a month thru BANKERS was for the rest of the economy. Making ObamaCare work is more about a political solution to sustaining an entire sectors JOBS rather than providing a Service/Health Care.
If I were influential I would promote cheap Oil, Gas and Coal with a very limited "clean energy R&D program" to make this economy work. Once it pulled out on the back of cheap energy, maybe a Services/Information Sector(s) Economy can work with Agricultural/Manufacturing Sector(s) society/Economy.
I will continue to invest my IRAs actively in the Energy Sector where I understand investments in light of Quantitate Easing which totally blew conventional investing wisdom out the window.
Many will find their premiums increased and many will find out they no longer have health insurance. Their cries should be long and loud in the halls of congress and to those Democrats responsible.
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