Indeed.
Posted on 02/13/2014 7:13:57 AM PST by Qbert
Texas firebrand spews out lukewarm senators in both parties
The debt ceiling fight in Congress has revived internal GOP tensions still lingering in the wake of last year’s government shutdown.
After the House of Representatives passed a “clean” debt-limit increase without any spending cuts attached, Senator Ted Cruz (R., Texas), whose 21-hour Obamacare filibuster preceded the government shutdown, announced that he would block any effort to pass the measure by simple majority vote in the Senate.
“If you ask anybody outside of Washington whether we should keep increasing the debt ceiling without fixing the underlying problem of out-of-control spending, the answer is ‘of course not,’” Cruz said in a statement. “If Republicans stand together we can demand meaningful spending restraint to help pull our nation back from the fiscal and economic cliff.”
Cruz’s Republican opponents saw the move as opportunism.
“Republicans don’t have any leverage after the shutdown, but this enables Cruz to take the spotlight again,” says a GOP aide. “It’s unfortunate.”
Some critics complain that Cruz’s gambit would force at least five Republican Senators to support a clean debt-limit increase – one that is going to pass anyway – which would open them up to attacks from Cruz’s political allies on the right. Cruz’s hardline stance precipitating the shutdown was, ironically enough, directly responsible for destroying GOP leverage on the debt limit, they argue.
Cruz aide Amanda Carpenter pushed back strongly against criticism of the Senator’s move. In a tweet early Wednesday, Carpenter described the GOP leadership’s debt-limit strategy: “Let Democrats walk all over them and thank them for the back massage.” Another conservative aide tells National Review Online: “It’s shocking to suggest that Republicans should not even attempt to offer the American people an alternative to putting the country deeper and deeper into debt.”
The conservative aide complained that GOP leadership was “abdicating” the minority’s right to offer amendments to the bill in order to speed its passage, and argued that a simple majority threshold would allow four red state Democrats such as Kay Hagan (N.C.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), Mary Landrieu (La.), and Mark Begich (Alaska) to cast votes against increasing the debt limit. “This is bad policy and absolutely terrible politics,” the aide says. “Conservatives are just dumbfounded at this ridiculous and unnecessary ploy.”
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has scheduled a pair of votes this afternoon on the debt-limit measure. One is a motion to invoke “cloture” and end debate on the bill – at a 60-vote threshold – and the other is on final passage by simple majority. Democrats seem confident they’ll get the GOP votes they need, but Republicans seem to be struggling to produce them. “There’s not a single Republican who wants to cast that vote,” the GOP aide says.
So far, only Senator Mark Kirk (R, Ill.) has said he’ll back the measure.
Seems like grown up boys wouldn't be forced into anything. They are just angry that they got exposed for being what they really are.
/johnny
the glass debt ceiling needs to be replaced by reinforced concrete
What debt ceiling?
I’ve not seen any number of a ceiling. The only # I’ve seen so far is that this is to cover 13 months till the next “reset” of the ceiling.
Until otherwise, I’m reading this as an unlimited blank check for over a year... the national debt can rise to any amount... $18 Trillion? $118 Trillion? Either one is “legal”.
Cruz’s critics are anonymous, I notice. Bleepin’ cowards.
Does anyone ever recall such terminology being used the last time there was a GOP president in the white house?
Any combination of eight of these that either voted for or didn’t vote
would have kept the colture vote from passing.
Barrasso (R-WY)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Flake (R-AZ)
Hatch (R-UT)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Not voting:
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
all except Cornball....we know who he is, and where he is....
Our side never emphasizes that Obamacare is 100% Democrat Owned, that not one Republican voted for it.
Indeed.
It is what it is...Cruz Control!
Cruz 2016!
There are people out there?
The saying ,”spending money like a drunken sailor” will be replaced with , “spending money like an OBAMA’ , a sailor may spend hundreds of dollars when Obama will spend trillions
Cockroaches don’t like the person who turns on the light.
"Cruz’s critics are anonymous, I notice. Bleepin’ cowards. "
Yep. And they're stilling whining about the "shutdown". Honestly, I've been scanning the headlines of leftist blogs and newspapers for months now, and I have yet to see a single leftist refer to the shutdown- they stopped mentioning it after Obamacare started imploding. The only people who still complain about it are the crony-capitalist Chamber of Amnesty types.
oops , it would be , “spending money like a HIGH OBAMA”
With the only difference being that drunken sailors spend their own money.
•John Barrasso (R-WY
•Susan Collins (R-ME))
•Bob Corker (R-TN)
•John Cornyn (R-TX)
•Jeff Flake (R-AZ)
•Mike Johanns (R-NE)
•Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
•Mark Kirk (R-IL)
•John McCain (R-AZ)
•Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
•Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
•John Thune (R-SD)
Huh?
Republicans continue to believe they got a beat-down during the government shutdown. Federal workers got a paid vacation and Obama proved what an ass he is by shutting down the National Mall, etc. Meanwhile, Obama himself delays the implementation of obamacare, just like what republicans wanted. Cruz was right then and now as well.
'Our side' is absurdly pathetic at messaging. Always on defensive. Always working off the Democrat's template. A perfect recent example is Boehner's appearance on Leno. When asked about the Tea Party, he took a conciliatory tone...his goal was not to upset the Tea Party. He spoke of 'they have good intentions to limit government'. Instead of taking the opportunity in front of a large audience to dispel myths and position his party for growth, he played small ball. He should have challenged the position. He should say, the Tea Party movement is just an active group representing a much larger belief that government is too big, spending too high, and (all positions held by well over a majority of the country). We arrived in office because the country wanted to put a stop to the crazy agenda of Obama's first 2 years.'
That pulls people in to our party, and positions Obama and the Democrats as out of step. Instead, as the consummate DC insider, he's not concerned about growing the party. He's concerned about maintaining control for himself and the existing ruling class. Our party is irreconcilably broken because they are poor leaders and pathetic communicators.
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