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.
The attack of the neo-con liberals from their Troskyite mouthpiece, the National Review.
You reminded me of another important point. In addition to writing a note of encouragement to Cruz, I should also write a note to Reid to point out that I do not appreciate his work to make government larger and more intrusive.
I would say that, “In your life time the greatest experience of any is when you are about to play in a great contest, where you are not expected to win...maybe not even expected to show up. Where you are the underdog. Instead of being worried, anxious or afraid...you should know that those are times when you should be happy, excited and comforted because in such a situation you CANNOT lose. By first just showing up, when a weaker person wouldn’t, you win...BY playing your best and making it a close game....you win... but if by some chance you win...then you savor that for the rest of your lives.”
I think of Ted Cruz right now. He cannot lose by trying and fighting to the end. He will lose only if he quits or doesn’t try.
We should all pray for this man today. To give him strength to endure and persevere.
May the spirit of our Founding Fathers be in his blood and in his heart and speech. MAY THE SPIRIT OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS BE WITH HIM WHEN HE SPEAKS.
GOD BLESS YOU, TED CRUZ!!!!!!!!!!
Because their agenda (the GOP establishment) is not ours.
I see where this was taken off the side bar.
Everyone should listen to this. It will give you hope and strength.
http://therightscoop.com/mark-levins-epic-monologue-on-republicans-being-forced-to-defund-obamacare/
For the politicians it is worse because they are surrounded by ass-kissers all day long, and then on the weekend they trot off to some liberal studio to get their ass kissed or get a doggie treat when they say something against their own party by being “bipartisan” or some such crap.
They love it! That old song “I love the night life, I like to boogie.....” I like the raw POWER (even second tier power), I like the young politi-groupies who'll screw me, I like the interns....and on and on and on an on.....
If the Bible were written today, DC would be a strong competitor for Sodom, or Gomorrah, for lead billing.
And the problem is... what?
We know this can't get through the senate, you useless NRO RINOs. But the House doesn't have to pass any bill at all, do they? And then what's the communist in the White House going to do? He won't have any money for his socialized medical plan --you know, the one the Senators are exempt from. < spit>
What I love about Ted is that he runs circles around liberals and the media, because he's intellectually and mentally tough.
We're behind you 100%, Ted.
Run Ted, run!
“....and one senator, after rolling his eyes, called it a “Passion play.”
Finally, a DC critter how is “pasionate” about standing up for conservative values instead of playing to the 47%. We need to rid ourselves of the rest of the “pretenders” like the senator who complained about Cryz,
I agree, but the man is taking it from all sides. I worry that he will back off...give up. I don’t know the man. Doesn’t anyone here know of him? Surely, he has already worked a miracle by bringing this to a head.
We need to expose the imposter in the WH. This will be a start.
The only negative. He could use some whiskey and cigarettes.
If it’s NRO, it’s worse than fish wrap. They have gone to the dark side. Don’t bother to even read the article.
I hope everyone is joining me out on the blogs of Yahoo, the networks, HuffPo, POLITICO,,and shouting how it’s Obama who will be shutting down the govt....We have to help Cruz! We have to help our country
O’Reilly was awful last night. His stance was that nothing is worth fighting for, but surrender is the way to win when the rules are not on your side.
Churchill should have surrendered, as should have the Alamo, as should have Washington at Valley Forge.
The first amendment specifically says that we have a right to assembly and petition for the redress of grievance.
THAT is the part of the Constitution to which Cruz and the defund ObamaCare movement is appealing.
Karl Rove be hung by his thumbs with his lackey, Bill O’Reilly, who continually carried Rove’s water during the Fox News Mitt Romney Lovefest.
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.”
In other words, O’Reilly’s book engages at some level in a Bultmanian type “demythologizing” of the Good News story of Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
One has to wonder if O’Reilly finds that Jesus was not killed due to the final straw of the raising of Lazarus from the dead, and the ensuing spiritual rejection of their Messiah, but rather solely due to some political impact he was having. (Whoop...there’s a “new” idea. /sarc)
To excise “religion” from the story, O’Reilly cannot use all the available facts, and he cannot conclude that Jesus was slain due to the rejection of God’s messenger, evidence of the evil, depraved human nature at war with God.
Therefore, he misses the whole story; he SPINS.
His father escaped from Cuba. (My dad escaped from Poland).
He won't take sh-- from communists, as long as he can stand.
Just a little sarcasm...along the lines of 'pictures or it never happened'.
He's not even that smart. He's a dim bulb, really. Sometimes his heart is in the right place. Most of the time he's an incoherent mess.
But he has a degree from Harvard. He'll tell you all about it.
Sure Republicans are tired of him, He is making them do some work. They would rather just sit around kissing Nancy Pelosi’s ass than have to take an actual stand on something.
We need to replace those Republicans who want to help Democrats destroy us with Obamacare.
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