Here’s why Ted Cruz missed the final vote on Obama’s next attorney general

The Blaze ^ | Apr. 23, 2015 3:46pm | Pete Kasperowicz

[SoConPubbie]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was already on a plane and flying back to Texas Thursday afternoon when the Senate held its final confirmation vote for Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, a Cruz campaign aide told TheBlaze.

As a result, Cruz was the only senator not to vote on Lynch’s confirmation earlier in the day. The Senate approved Lynch, a candidate that Cruz has argued against for months now.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) missed the final vote on the confirmation of Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch, and was on a plane back to Texas. Cruz was the only senator to miss the vote.

The Cruz aide declined to say why the senator was returning to his home state. However, a reporter from Real Clear Politics tweeted a picture of a flyer indicating that Cruz, a GOP presidential contender, had a campaign fundraiser to attend to Thursday night in Texas.

Here's why Cruz had to fly back to Texas before the final Lynch vote… pic.twitter.com/BCUt2cbkED

— Rebecca Berg (@rebeccagberg) April 23, 2015

While Cruz missed the final vote, aides to Cruz stressed that Cruz was in the Senate for the key vote on whether to end debate on Lynch’s nomination. The so-called “cloture vote” in the Senate is in fact the critical vote, since an agreement to end debate needs 60 votes, and once that happens, it’s usually a cinch to find the 51 votes needed to confirm a nominee or pass a bill.

Cruz and most other Republicans voted against ending debate, but 20 Republicans voted with Democrats and allowed Lynch to get to a final vote.

Cruz spokeswoman Amanda Carpenter said the cloture vote was the “vote that mattered,” and laid out her argument in a series of tweets soon after the vote:

If the Senate could get 60 votes for cloture, they could get 51 for final confirmation. Cloture is the only vote that mattered.

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 23, 2015

Lynch received 66 votes on the vote that mattered. http://t.co/W6Ne8mQVv8 If she can get to 66 she can get to 51

— Amanda Carpenter (@amandacarpenter) April 23, 2015

[SoConPubbie]

"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton "We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan "A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792 "It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

[SoConPubbie]

    Ted Cruz Ping!

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    CRUZ or LOSE!

[mrsmel]

I don’t care that he missed the vote, it’s not like he didn’t make it perfectly clear where he stood on her before the final vote.

[mrsmel]

And it’s not like it wasn’t already plain, after he made his opposition perfectly clear, that his vote would not be at all decisive.

[Blood of Tyrants]

It was a done deal. The GOP traded a non-controverial bill to aid rape victims that the Rats had been holding up for a vote on Lynch.

[Carl Vehse]

Cruz and most other Republicans voted against ending debate, but 20 Republicans TRAITORS voted with Democrats and allowed Lynch to get to a final vote.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Cruz was in the Senate for the key vote on whether to end debate on Lynch’s nomination. The so-called “cloture vote” in the Senate is in fact the critical vote, since an agreement to end debate needs 60 votes, and once that happens, it’s usually a cinch to find the 51 votes needed to confirm a nominee or pass a bill.

The only thing that matters are the "Ays." The "nay" votes count for nothing.

So sure, his vote would have some symbolic value. OTOH, how many voted "nay" because Boehner gave them permission?

This is nit-picking. Ted did the heavy-lifting on the cloture vote.

[mrsmel]

Can you imagine the political hay the rats would have made of it, if that had been reversed?

[GraceG]

In this age of technology why can’t senators “remote vote”?

[AmusedBystander]

He should have been there and voted. That’s his job. If it’s too much effort, then he should resign and run for president free of his obligations.

[Georgia Girl 2]

I don’t blame him. He knew what the outcome was going to be. How can he fight the RINO’s on this stuff? He can’t.

[RC one]

Well, it’s not as if he can just sit back and rely on the big donors to pave his way to the Presidency. like a couple of other candidates.

[RitaOK]

Cloture is the big vote, that’s for sure. We had that argument already, in ‘12, against Cornyn and McCain and stupid McConnell.

Remember, they would trick constituents with voting yes on cloture and no on the vote, so they could say they voted AGAINST something. (Do I have that backwards? Second thoughts here.)

Anyway, it was learned loud and clear that cloture votes darn sure matter, and that actual votes can camouflage outcomes.

However, was there an earlier thread counting votes in the senate? Rand Paul was the best at attending the vote, whereas Cruz was absent a lot of the time.

Right now is not the campaign, but the money race. Everybody shut up and sing! lol!

[DoughtyOne]

Good luck Ted. And please, try to lie just a little... /Sarcasim

We're headed into 2016, and it's the year of the Conservative Liar. /Sarcasim

Get with it TED! Don't you want to be competitive? /Sarcasim

[DoughtyOne]

BumusedReader /Sarcasim

[chris37]

So don’t vote for him then.

I’m going to vote for him.

[GraceG]

We should use these for senators doing remote votes.

[SoConPubbie]

And it’s not like it wasn’t already plain, after he made his opposition perfectly clear, that his vote would not be at all decisive.

Exactly!

Cruz is smart enough to realize that at this point, his vote would be only symbolic, basically a waste of his precious time.

[Jane Long]

Thanks for posting this. All the Cruz bashers will maybe get why his final vote wouldn’t matter, regardless.

Good explanation of why it didn’t.

[SoConPubbie]

He should have been there and voted. That’s his job. If it’s too much effort, then he should resign and run for president free of his obligations.

Oh B.S.!

He already represented his constituents admirably on this issue by getting out in front of the issue and speaking, almost singly, against Loretta Lynch.

How about you get a poll from his employer, the voters of Texas, that show how dissatisfied they are with the actions of Ted Cruz on this issue and we'll debate the issue.