Posted on 11/18/2014 12:55:50 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Former Sen. Bob Bennett says even though Republicans are set to take over Congress come January, don't expect Sens. Ted Cruz and Mike Lee to set the agenda.
Bennett, speaking at a conference in Washington, says Sen. Mitch McConnell, who will be majority leader in the next Congress, has done a masterful job of "isolating" Ted Cruz.
"There is no cannier politician in Washington than Mitch McConnell," said Bennett. "Yes, Ted Cruz is an unsettling factor within the Republican conference. My sense of things is Mitch has very carefully, very methodically, very much under the radar isolated Ted Cruz. He's kind of sealed him off like a body puts a sac around some foreign matter it would prefer to expel but, if it can't, it can at least cut it off."
Bennett says McConnell's work has diluted the power of the Tea Party Caucus in the Senate.
"When the Tea Party Caucus was formed it was going to be so powerful. We heard all about it in Utah when Mike Lee was elected," said Bennett, who was ousted by Lee in 2010. "Lee said 'I'm going to have all these buddies and we're going to take over.' By the time McConnell was finished, the Tea Party Caucus was Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Jim DeMint, and DeMint left."
Bennett says at this point the power of the Tea Party in the next Congress will be more mythical than reality.
"Rand Paul didn't join and Marco Rubio didn't join. Cruz is going to look around and find that there are not going to be very many people with him."
Here's the video courtesy of C-SPAN.
That is precisely who will be with Ted Cruz, the people.
I was I had the wherewithal to edit movies and post them on FR.
I’d use Arnold in “Commando” and say “Quit screwing around Bennett and leave Cruz alone!”
If only they went after Progressives with the same fervor and heat as they go after Conservatives.
Until the Republicans OWN their liberal members, they will never get rid of them.
/johnny
I wonder what it would feel like for a RINO voting ‘conservative’ to be thought of as contents of a ‘sac’ that the RINOs body politic surrounds and cuts off because it can’t ‘expel’ them.
Must be an almost sexual degree of masochism to subject ones self willingly to that election after election.
Yea and they will be begging us to vote for them in 2016!
Bob Bennett does not have a clue of what will happen in the new Senate come Jan.
And plenty here will. Again.
What a dumb-ass!!
I wonder how McBoner will “isolate” President Cruz?
Just keep telling yourself that, Bob.
I’m sure McConnell is trying to isolate Cruz. We’ll see what happens when Obama issues his amnesty order. If anything other than a temporary funding bill gets passed then it’s pretty clear the GOPe has him bottled up.
Angry old turd.
Except the American people who apparently dont matter to Bennett
They didn’t matter to obama either and look what happened.
Cruz is a fighter. He knows the odds and he ain’t worried the fossils are going to control much longer.
Cruz is going to look around and find that there are not going to be very many people with him.” ..Except the rest of the country.
Exactly!!! It’s a Texas sized win for Cruz when he beat Dewhurst. Cruz will be heard and sticks to his word and the good of America.
Yeah kiddo, 'cause voting for D's is ALWAYS the better choice for the future of America!
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