The second TPA was not changed and the ExIm provision was not in the TPA that Cruz voted against. What happened was that the dems were promised by McConnell and Boehner that the ExIM would be renewed if they supported TPA and rammed it through.
Cruz was for TPA before he was against it.
The only thing that changed was that there were promises made for democratic support of the same bill that Ted Cruz supported.
That's his story anyway.
Sounds like a pretty lame excuse.
The more honorable thing to do was just say "I WAS WRONG." Instead he claims "I WAS DUPED".
> “The second TPA was not changed and the ExIm provision was not in the TPA that Cruz voted against. What happened was that the dems were promised by McConnell and Boehner that the ExIM would be renewed if they supported TPA and rammed it through.”
Not true. Speaking with knowledge that McConnell would allow an amendment for EX-IM reauthorization to the 2nd TPA, Boehner agreed to let the dems get their EX-IM amendment target passed. The Boehner-McConnell scheme was confirmed by their orchestrating a show vote on a separate NDAA bill.
Cantwell spoke with House dem leaders to confirm that she had the green light to attach an EX-IM amendment rider to the TPA bill sent from the House. The EX-IM is a renewal authorization and so does not need a vote from the House; it merely needs a House Bill originating as a revenue bill to attach to which would be TPA. Conervatives tried to explicitly get amendments into the 2nd TPA to stop this abuse of process but were blocked by Boehner/McCarthy.
The parliamentary tactics applied here are not what’s important. What is important is that your agenda is not working and will not work. Your agenda is to take down Cruz and it will not work because when Cruz saw what the 2nd TPA was representing in terms of pending amendments, he reversed his vote. And when he talks to the grassroots he has a Reagan like ability to get the truth out and the result is the grassroots is responding to his honesty because he tells the truth. But even with that good news, he cautions the grassroots to not trust any politician, instead he advises they demand “Don’t Tell Me! Show Me!”. Ted has shown his fight in the Senate for better trade rules (1st TPA) and he has shown his fight against bad trade rules (2nd TPA).
Cruz was not wrong and he was not duped. The 1st TPA was a good bill in the tradition of past TPAs and Cruz as well as others voted on the wording of the good bill. That McConnell/Boehner and Obama schemed to defraud the process via shifty parliamentary maneuvers is not Cruz’ fault but you are trying your hardest to make it his fault or to label him a flip-flopper.
Your agenda won’t work because the grassroots are not as dumb as you think they are. They see the below the belt jabs that Cruz has taken and it only makes them support him more.
The only way your ilk is going to take Cruz down is to have him assassinated. That’s not likely to happen either. So there’s really no hope for you.
Cruz is going to win because he speaks better than you, he has more people trusting him than you and your group.
Nothing is any of this trade saga points to Cruz having done one thing wrong; not even an error in judgment. He does not control McConnell or Boehner. Yes he has been defeated on defunding Obamacare, on offering sensible amendments to the Gang of 8 immigration bill, on stopping cloture of the Iran Deal and now TPA. But those defeats are not of his account. Those defeats are accountable to McConnell, Boehner and Obama. And the grassroots sees that clearly.