Posted on 09/20/2013 3:37:47 AM PDT by nikos1121
Even among Republicans, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is one of Washington’s most divisive figures. Activists love him, but leadership staffers and many of his colleagues can’t stand him — especially his latest effort to connect a government-spending bill with the defunding of Obamacare. After a Senate luncheon on Tuesday, several Republicans told me they’re tired of Cruz’s campaign, and one senator, after rolling his eyes, called it a “Passion play.”
The internecine tensions spilled over to the House on Wednesday, when a group of Republicans knocked Cruz on Twitter for appearing to back down from the defunding fight. Speaker John Boehner had just decided to bring a Cruz-inspired bill to the floor, and instead of rallying the Senate, Cruz issued a statement that left the burden of defunding Obamacare squarely on the lower chamber. “Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so,” Cruz said. “At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people.”
Of course, Cruz’s acknowledgement of the near-impossibility of passing a defunding bill through the Democratic-controlled Senate is an accurate reading of political reality. But House Republicans didn’t care; they were apoplectic with Cruz not only for laying the responsibility for defunding on them, but for making them seem weak. “If Cruz doesn’t help us in the Senate to pass a defunding bill, we’ll end up having to pass a normal CR,” complains a veteran House Republican. “It’ll be pathetic, but I expect him to slam us for it.”
House insiders say a handful of House Republicans cursed Cruz in the cloakroom on Wednesday, and a leadership source says angry e-mails were exchanged among GOP staffers who consider Cruz to be a charlatan. “Cruz keeps raising conservatives’ hopes, and then, when we give him what he wants, he doesn’t have a plan to follow through,” an aide fumes. “He’s an amateur.” Another aide says, “Nancy Pelosi is more well-liked around here.”
Cruz, however, tells me House Republicans are wrong to be infuriated. In an interview, he says his goal was never to whip together votes in the Senate for a defunding bill; it was always to inspire a grassroots uprising that would rattle Congress and President Obama, and hopefully defund Obamacare.
“I’m convinced there is a new paradigm in politics — the rise of the grassroots,” Cruz says. He cites Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster on drone policy, and the debates on Syria and gun control, as recent examples of how an “overwhelming” number of phone calls and e-mails from constituents can force the president to buckle.
“And on Obamacare, I’ve said, from the start, that if typical Washington rules apply, we can’t win this fight,” he explains. “If the forums in which we make this case consist of the smoke-filled rooms of Washington, the votes aren’t there. The only way this fight will be won is if the American people rise up and hold our elected officials accountable.”
Cruz says he “salutes” Boehner and House Republicans for moving forward with a vote on defunding, but he stands by his belief that one vote this week isn’t enough. “When I say the House needs to stand strong, it’s because the fight will be won or lost in the House of Representatives,” he says. “I can’t win this fight, and Mike Lee can’t win this fight,” but he believes the House GOP can.
Cruz’s advisers agree, and Chip Roy, his chief of staff, has pushed back hard against Cruz’s House critics. “Senator Cruz is doing what he said he would do when he came to Washington,” Roy tells me. “He promised to do everything he can to stop Obamacare before it begins hurting real people and further harms our economy.”
“His staff is working with whomever we can to achieve that goal, including House and Senate staff,” Roy adds. “For every story about a staffer grumbling behind the scenes, there are dozens of staffers who tell us how excited they are Senator Cruz is standing up to business as usual.”
For the moment, though, the divide between Cruz and his fellow Republicans is growing. House Republicans will pass their defund-CR bill on Friday, and it will head to a quick death in the Senate. Cruz may shrug off his detractors, but as the deadline for government funding nears, he has become a top target — not just for Democrats, but also for Republicans who want to pin the mess on him.
— Robert Costa is National Review’s Washington editor.
Chickensh*ts.
No. The RINOs are a lot runnier than that!!
Well GOPe, Ted wasn’t sent to Washington DC to be “liked”. If he was I’d tell him “You’re doing it wrong”.
This is it. We’be been gnashing our teeth every day for five years. We’ve listened to the O’REillys, the Hannity’s, the Coulters etc. I’m tired of this. We finally have someone who embraces the strategy of John Quincy Adams. Sometimes you just get out there and fight for what is right, like Davey Crockett. Sometimes you pick the fight and you fight.
This is it. We’ve watched this country go down the tubes, because we have an absolute phony in the WH. They took over our gov’t in the first two years, and rammed this terrible law down our throats without discussion with out one vote from us.
THIS IS WROND...DEAD WRONG.
This is our red line in the sand, Peter King, you coward. this is where we fight. This is a red line that means something.
If enought people say enough is enough and stand up for what is right, right will prevail.
These same TYPES of Republicans couldn’t stand Ronald Reagan, either.
History repeats.
You’re right about that....He was discarded and rediculed by the Karl Roves.
Come on Karl...let’s unite for once. Although I will tell you, that fact that these RINOs are not backing Cruz is probably good for Cruz, as alot of Democrats will follow him.
Americans love the underdog. He is well prepared, coherent, and articulant. He’s prepared his whole life for this fight from the many times he’s been in court.
Run, Ted Run!!!!!
“If enough people say enough is enough and stand up for what is right, right will prevail.”
We’ll see. I’d argue whether we win or lose this fight on deathcare isn’t the real issue: it’s whether we head down the road that ends with a national divorce. Because that’s where this goes if the House is perceived to cave once the fight has been picked up.
This is certainly not the team I would pick to fight with, but you go with what you’ve got. We have to do OUR jobs first. So pick up the phone and dial.
Do you have phone numbers, addresses, fax numbers emails? I’d like to have Ted Cruz’s to start sending him what I can.
Do you think anyone out there who can take to the airwaves, like Rush...has read our post today?
Notice how the “complaining” republicans aren’t named?
I’m with Cruz, no liberals, no more libertarians, no more RINO’s.
I;ts time we got a real conservative in , socially and fiscally not some half baked RINO who is soft on social issues or fiscal issues.
http://www.theorator.com/government/house.html
But you’re better to call the local offices: you’ll get through and the messages all go to the same place anyway.
“Do you think anyone out there who can take to the airwaves, like Rush...has read our post today? “
Limbaugh used to be a FReeper. I doubt he still is. Several of the talk shows use FR for show prep. Not so much as they used to, but they still do so who knows who reads what?
Keep in mind FR is not about the posters. It’s about the lurkers who outnumber the posters by about 10 to 1.
Cruz us a threat, he;s a conservative socially and fiscally and has balls to take these cowards and left wing nuts as well as the all powerful homosexuals on.
Just hope we don’t get another split between the half baked republicans liberaltarians and RINO;’s and actually understand he is the real deal
agree, he stands for no open borders, normal marriage, string military, gun rights, etc etc etc.
These half baked RINo’s who want drugs, open borders, homosexuality weak military can all go to hell or get out of the way and then understand we have a good man here
home listening bkmk
Not the best precident to set. Do you want. Dem controlled House to do this on something like gun control?
Cruz needs to kill this bill in the Senate,
He was elected to the Senate not the House and he didn’t run against Bohner.
The GOP House passed a defund bill so Cruz, Rubio, Paul, Lee, ...need to shutdown the Senate until Reid passes the House bill.
He needs to talk to his follow Senators, convince them, run ads against them, threaten them, twist arms, he is there with them, they are Senators.
Make it Reids shutdown, Make Dems own it.
He always is awful.
I'm reminded of what Gov. Walker went through in WI. He stuck to his position, won a recall election, and now WI is running a surplus with the unions in decline.
Maybe another even better example is Reagan. He pushed through a Rat controlled Congress tax cuts in a terrible economy and when even his advisors told him he had to reverse course he held firm. We ended with a booming economy and the end of the USSR.
If the GOP doesn't win on the defunding of obamacare, but gets a delay we are still better off than we would be if we just gave in.
One final note. O’Reilly said on his program, when asked about Jesus’ Resurrection, that his book “Killing Jesus” is about “history” and not about “religion.”
Hey if he included the religion in the history he wouldn't be popular at all the liberal parties, where being a Christian means you go to church around Christmas time.
I don’t, but I am sure contact info is readily available.
Thank you for sharing your insights, dear brother in Christ!
I think he looks and sounds great on paper, but he lacks presence, he is kind of wormy. In Presidential politics that plays a role. He’d be great in a supporting role, but he in not Presidential material.
After the House victory, Ted Cruz asked that we each get five people to sign defund Obamacare pledge:
http://www.dontfundobamacare.com/
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