There's yet another contradiction. Isn't negotiation with Obama just the selling out of principles? (we are lectured?)
The battle was lost when we were lectured that killing all CRs in the Senate, even the one the house passed, then in the house House, would defund Obamacare, proven not true, then Obama would blink (and cave) and force Reid to pass a bill that specifically defunds Obamacare.)
Obamacare funding was exempt from the shutdown as it was prefunded.
In fact the shutdown lasted two weeks and then the House passed a number of partial spending bills like funding the troops, AND THOSE PARTIAL SPENDING BILLS DIDN'T DEFUND OBAMACARE. So this was already a partial surrender, but we were lectured that it was brilliant strategy.
I was reminded of the 1960s movie Path's of Glory when the French General demanded his own troops be shelled, then executed, for cowardice, when it was his own plan that was bad.
Sowell has a valid point that this type of lunacy only helps Dems.
And if so, then isn't this an indictment of our representative government in general? I put it to you - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America!
I'm sorry, that's what all of your arguments sound like, except a little less cogent.
Cruz's stand was: if the Dems were not going to accept anything other than a clean CR, it didn't matter what the GOP leverage item was. Why not make the leverage item the #1 issue that conservatives (and allegedly the GOPe) wanted addressed? What other issue would motivate the citizenry to bombard Congress with phone calls or email?
Even if the stand and shutdown was a negotiation tool to achieve a delay in Obamacare implementation, it would have given Cruz & Lee and the House Tea Party Caucus more time to compel the GOPe leadership to remove their thumbs from their a$$es and do something - anything - about Obamacare and runaway federal spending.
The battle was lost when we were lectured that killing all CRs in the Senate, even the one the house passed, then in the house House, would defund Obamacare, proven not true, then Obama would blink (and cave) and force Reid to pass a bill that specifically defunds Obamacare.) Obamacare funding was exempt from the shutdown as it was prefunded.
In fact the shutdown lasted two weeks and then the House passed a number of partial spending bills like funding the troops, AND THOSE PARTIAL SPENDING BILLS DIDN'T DEFUND OBAMACARE. So this was already a partial surrender, but we were lectured that it was brilliant strategy.
Nice passive voice. No direct attribution for who was doing any lecturing. How can Cruz be at fault for Harry Reid not taking up any CR for Senate consideration? And if you and Sowell want to talk about pointless, futile principled gestures, why should the House even bother to pass any bill or CR if Harry Reid is unwilling to take up the issue in the Senate? Even if Harry Reid allows a House bill to enter the Senate, he will "fill up the tree" with proposed amendments of "strike 'a' and insert 'the'".
Sowell has a valid point that this type of lunacy only helps Dems.
Let me fix your comment.
Sowell has a valid misses the point that this type of lunacy only helps Dems harms the GOPe.
There fixed it.
Did you read the June 17 Federal Register? I hope you did. It's tragic. Later this year (should have been last year but for Emperor/Dictator Obama acting unconstitutionally) employers will be dropping health insurance for millions. Has the GOP-e establishment done ANYTHING to inform much less protect the average American employee? Instead we get the link below:
Debt-Ceiling Surrender: Republicans use Senate rules to play a con game on the folks back home.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3126057/posts
For example, every time Boehner/McConnely make a statement they should do it under a Debt Clock and have an estimate of how many millions of Americans lost their insurance due to Obamacare.
You are focusing on defunding, I am focusing on informing the average Joe/Jo. The average Joe/Jo is mad as hell and the GOP-e has done nothing.
The defunding issue could have been the opening volley. Because the GOP-e had/has no effing clue on how to shape public opinion, they weren't ready to go for the initial retreat to make a big deal about Obama illegally and unilaterally changing Obamacare willy nilly. There should be ads day and night how Obama is acting unconstitutionally, how the average American is going to be hurt by Obamacare, etc. Aside, how come the GOP-e didn't make a big deal of FED employees being paid to close the WW2 monument and harassing 90 year old Vets during the shutdown? The government was supposedly shutdown, why the heck are those fed employees harassing WW2 Vets???? HUH??
I am now listening how Obama/Hagel are downsizing the Army to before the WW2 level. Well, that is going to end well.
As far as I am concerned, all of DC should close down annually until the deficit is zero (adjusting for the cost of government for the remaining fiscal year). Then fed employees can come back to work for the remaining fiscal year.