Posted on 07/24/2015 2:56:15 PM PDT by Isara
In a fiery floor speech Friday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) railed against a seemingly obscure agency he derided as "corporate welfare" for our nation's biggest corporations.
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Supporters say the bank helps level the playing field for U.S. companies against competitors in Europe and China, who get significant help from their governments. Detractors call the bank crony capitalism that mostly helps big business.
But really, as Cruz's speech showed Friday, the bank has become a proxy battle for something else entirely: Government's place in business. And it appears those who want government out of business have won this battle -- for now.
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My colleague, Philip Bump, wrote Cruz's speech Friday was perfectly timed to fit the endorsement of prominent conservative celebrity Brent Bozell, and the "Washington cartel" and corporate welfare have been a major theme of his campaign.
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Pro-business and Republican-leaning groups like the Chamber of Commerce are lobbying heavily on Capitol Hill to keep it. And they're surprised that this is even an issue they have to lobby so hard for: The relatively obscure bank has always had its critics, but it's never risen to such a prominent debate before.
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That will throw at least a little wrench in the U.S. business community, but its impact is more notable in the political realm. The bank's (possibly temporary) expiration is a huge win for the right wing of the Republican Party like Cruz & co. They've succeeded in convincing the highest levels of government that the bank is a symbol of big government and has to go. The war on the Ex-Im Bank is the beginning of the end for government welfare programs that don't abide by the free market, they hope.
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(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
The WP’s brow is all a-furrow over this.
Traitor McConnell must go!
McConnell must have really let loose some whoppers for Ted to drop the anchor on his head.
Uh, maybe but maybe mainly because Mitch IS a liar.
Why??
Uh because McConnell is a leader of the ‘destroy America’ group?
It's hard to see how McConnell could let this pass without making some sort of public comment.
Because Mitch McConnell is a lying duplicitous weasel.
We got rid of our weasel, Eric Cantor last year.
KY should have done the same.
Alison Grimes was the lesser evil.
Cruz won.
The Ex-Im Bank is defunded.
The WaPost is steaming mad. The NY Times is steaming mad. Hillary is steaming mad.
Ergo, Cruz was correct.
Why?
Because:
1) Principle: Conservative principle says keep government out of business. Cruz is right on conservative principle.
2) Separation: Cruz separates himself from the disastrous facts and image of the GOPe / RINO wing of the party that is clearly beholden to the Chamber of Crony Capitalists.
3) Mavericky: Cruz demonstrates his unwillingness to bend principle to political expedience, power, corporations, leadership, etc. You could call this “independence”.
4) Triangulation: Setting himself on the side of CITIZENS against CORPORATIONS is something lots of undecided, middle-of-the-roaders, blue dog democrats, Reagan Democrats, etc. want to hear. He steals liberal thunder by using a conservative position to rail against the same things the left hates: Corporate Welfare.
5) Ratings: Lots of good sound-bites in there. Presidential candidates have to stay in the news cycle.
6) Subject Matter: Cruz gets to set the table and win the game by creating an issue nobody else is talking about. Trump? Hillary? Jebster? Walker? Where do they stand on the conservative principle of getting government out of the business of business? If they are lucky, they can only play catch-up to Cruz on this.
7) Correcting: Cruz was on the wrong side of 0bamaTrade, and this helps offset that mis-step. While he did correct himself on 0bamaTrade (badly and too late imho), the people offended by 0bamaTrade are offended in the same manner by the Ex Im Bank. So he gets to apply an ointment to that self-inflicted wound.
Cruz was Brilliant on this, as on so much more.
As long as Mitch McConnell is being savaged, I’m a happy camper. Can someone now please savage Boehner?
They seem to think this is some calculation, like Clinton’s triangulations, as if he doesn’t mean it. Cruz might be angry because McConnell lied to him, that congress is robbing the people, and the people have no influence anymore.
My suspicion is the Ex-Im Bank is going to be used to finance the new Boeing airliners Iran wants to buy when the sanctions are lifted. Probably something Mitch promised the chamber of cronies which is why he’s using every dirty trick in the book to keep the bank alive.
hey susie
He’s addressing similar concerns to Trump, but in a more refined manner.
The “Turtle” needs to get knuckled much more often......and not just by Cruz. Cruz has merely shown the way. Now it’s time for others to speak up.
LOL. I noticed that and was highly amused-it just doesn’t fit any of the caricatured round holes into which the “evil greedy right” is supposed to fit. The left will have to concoct a new category for this new breed of “evil conservative”. But I have faith in them to be right on it.
Senator Cruz had no choice but to stand up to Senator McConnell.
“Once it closes shop, I think it becomes increasingly difficult to revive it.”
Dick Durbin
Good riddance. Hey, let’s remember that during the next shut-down.
Lying Duplicitous Weasel.
Hey, I like that. Fits.
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