Posted on 03/25/2015 7:21:44 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Cruz's family currently gets employer insurance through his wife, who is taking an unpaid leave...
Media and pundits say Ted Cruz is a hypocrite for complying with federal law.
The Republican senator and 2016 GOP hopeful Ted Cruz revealed in an interview Tuesday that he and his family may soon have to enroll in a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act — an action that is unremarkable for a federal employee and in keeping with Obamacare's requirement that every American buy government-approved insurance or get hit with a punitive tax.
"We'll be getting new health insurance and we'll presumably do it through my job with the Senate, and so we'll be on the federal exchange with millions of others on the federal exchange," Cruz said in an interview with CNN. Cruz's family currently gets employer insurance through his wife, who is taking an unpaid leave during his presidential campaign.
Cruz made clear that he will not be getting subsidies and stated his belief that politicians should be made to comply with the laws they impose on citizens. "I believe we should follow the text of every law," Cruz told CNN's Dana Bash, "even laws I disagree with."
But given Cruz's continuing vocal opposition to Presidents Obama's health care law, the Texas Republican's remarks were received by certain media figures as a humorous twist of fate. Many anti-Cruz commentators are delighted to see him pressed into the unwieldy federal insurance exchange system.
"Ted Cruz going on Obamacare. The hypocrisy of these people is incredible! He fought against it until he needed it," Univision correspondent Daniela Ganoza said on Twitter Wednesday.
The New Republic's Brian Beutler quipped, "Repealing Obamacare would be bad for millions but good for new enrollee Ted Cruz. That's not hypocrisy, it's greed."
Meanwhile, National Journal's Ron Fournier went on an extended Twitter rant Wednesday that included theories about what Cruz would likely say should he be offered the top spot at the IRS.
"This is rich: [Ted Cruz] calls #Obamacare lawless but signs up for it," Fournier tweeted, adding later, "Breaking: [Barack Obama] nominates [Ted Cruz] to head the #IRS. Cruz accepts. 'Guy's gotta work.'" (The maverick lawmaker advocates abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, though he continues to pay income tax.)
The mirth spilled over to newsrooms, with headlines and reports noting the supposed irony of Cruz considering enrolling in Obamacare.
U.S. News & World Report published an op-ed titled "Critic and customer? Ted Cruz may be signing up for Obamacare."
The Washington Post followed with a headline of its own that read, "Now Ted Cruz says he's probably signing up for Obamacare, and he's definitely still trying to kill it."
MSNBC's Thomas Roberts characterized the Cruz news as a "flip-flop."
Previously, Cruz's family had access to health benefits through his wife, Heidi Cruz, a managing director at Goldman Sach's Houston office. Following the senator's announcement Monday that he will compete in 2016 GOP Republican presidential primaries, Heidi Cruz has gone on unpaid leave, meaning the family no longer has access to the firm's health benefits.
Cruz's other options include continuing the Goldman Sachs coverage through COBRA (most likely at a substantially higher rate after accounting for the loss of the employer payment and a service charge), purchasing insurance privately, or foregoing insurance and paying the Obamacare tax. A Cruz staffer told CNN the private insurance market has been "obliterated" by Obamacare.
Cruz said in his interview that he won't use the exemption carved out for lawmakers.
"I strongly oppose the exemption that President Obama illegally put in place for members of Congress because (Senate Minority Leader) Harry Reid and the Senate Democrats didn't want to be under the same rules as the American people," Cruz said. "I believe we should follow the text of the law."
I think Cruz was smart to do it.
Every time the left brings it up — people will hear that Congress voted itself exempt from this odious and onerous law.
Yep. He can also speak from experience about the pain that was forced on we the people.
Mockery seems more and more like the main weapon in the liberal quiver. This is why I am pessimistic for the future. It seems like we are sinking into the mire of mob rule. Democracy sucks. And our founders did not want that. But how many of our fellow citizens know that? Or how many know the difference between mob rule and a republic? Welcome to being oppressed by a temporary majority on every issue you can think of. Have a nice day.
This will place Cruz in a position few on Capitol Hill are in: that of someone who knows Obamacare from the viewpoint of someone who is 'served' by it. The exempt have decided they are above the law the rest are subject to, but Cruz will know it as they do not.
In this way, he has seized the moral high ground.
No wonder the media are having fits.
Cruz is several steps ahead of them and the idiots don’t even know it yet.
“Mockery seems more and more like the main weapon in the liberal quiver.
You have a point, but there has been nobody pre-Cruz willing nor able to mount an >effective< defense against it; An effective defense causes the “mock” to reflect back upon the thrower. Cruz did utterly nothing whatsoever other than to follow the law. He lost the private ins that his wife had and followed the law by getting ins through the government exchange. He doesn’t like taxes and wants to abolish the IRS. But at the moment, right now, the law of the land is the law of the land, so he pays his taxes. There’s nothing at all to explain nor to apologize for here. There is nothing other the most pat explanation possible.
It is the people who mock him who are the third graders throwing dirtbombs. It’s embarassing that they never outgrew the habit, but it is what it is.
We will see if the grown ups win this election over the adults who mock and snicker. I won’t hold my breath however.
The media made fun of R. Reagan and he kicked their ass. Anyone know how to get a cheque to Cruz? All I see so far is a bunch of computerized crap that I won’t contribute through.
Correct.
When he speaks about Obamacare - from now on he will be speaking from personal experience.
What does that say about a man who could skirt the issue if he wanted to in order to make it easier on himself, but instead decides to experience it like one of us?
Who is going to be more believable? Joe B.S. Dummycrat who has his 75% paid subsidy from Obama or Ted who is willingly going to experience the full brunt of Obama's Law?
Ted’s options were to take the Gold Luxury plan like Harry Reid has and then be called an elitist as you and I are stuck with Obamacare, or he could take Obamacare like you and I and fight to repeal it, now with standing.
I think Cruz made a sage choice that will really be useful down the road arguing this issue to the American voter.
Smart man. Very very very smart.
My thought Exactly!
First hand reports of the Government run health Care.
It really makes no difference which path he takes. They’ll pick on him because they are desperate to discredit him. The fact that they have no ammo, won’t deter them. They’ll mock him if he sneezes. What they don’t realize is that they are using his name so often that people are memorizing it. They are too irrational to realize that the best defense against him would be to ignore him.
And it isn’t just the left, either. I love the way that Cruz is polarizing the Republican party and smoking out the Rinos. The hate and vitriol on Fox is so bad right now that I can’t stand to listen for more than a minute or so. It is very easy to tell the true conservatives from the synthetic ones. I see a cleansing process occurring. And Cruz manages it all without becoming unhinged or appearing unreasonable. I can’t say the same for his dissenters though.
Pretty sure Cruz is up to something. As an Obamacare
enrollee does Cruz provide himself with legal standing
in a potential future lawsuit? Hmmmm.....
Yeah, he did not graduate first in his law class and acquire Professor Derschowitz’s undying adulation fer nuthin’.
Memorize this and tell this to others who do not know and are unsure of Cruz’s executive experience for Freeper’s conservative98 post:
“Cruz answered this on today’s Laura Ingrahm Show...
Before Cruz was in the Senate, he wasn’t a community organizer like Obama.
He is was Solicitor General for the state of Texas, the chief lawyer for the state of Texas in front of the US Supreme Court, supervised and led every appeal for the State of Texas in a 4,000 person agency with over 700 lawyers.
And over and over again fought and won some of the biggest conservative fights in the country.
Whether it was:
defending the 10 Commandments on monuments on the state capital grounds - won 5-4 at the US Supreme Court,
defending the Pledge of Allegiance - won unanimously,
2nd Amendment to keep and bear arms - won 5-4. Standing up to the UN and World Court and defending US soverienty - won 6-3.
And so unlike Obama, Cruz has a proven record for over a decade for standing up and defending conservative principles over and over again. And winning over and over again.
http://podcastone.com/The-Laura-Ingraham-Show-Podcast
P.S.
I heard Laura when she did liking that Cruz would not go after his Republican detractors.
And last night on Levin, when asked if he would have gays and other carnival lefties to help him or something like that, Cruz said, he welcomed everyone...as long as they were for the free market, increasing our liberties and the constitution.
He will get the last laugh at these Marxist morons.
Pray America is waking
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.