WASHINGTON, D.C. – After speaking on the Senate floor today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement:Posted on 07/26/2015 4:28:53 PM PDT by Isara
American people elected a Republican majority believing it would somehow be different from a Democratic one
Video of Sen. Cruz’s floor speech today
WASHINGTON, D.C. – After speaking on the Senate floor today, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) issued the following statement:
“We’ve just seen something extraordinary on the Senate floor. The American people elected a Republican majority believing that a Republican majority would be somehow different from a Democratic majority in the United States Senate. Unfortunately, the way the current Senate operates, there is one party, the Washington party.
“Senate leadership consists of the McConnell-Reid leadership team. They operate as a team. They support the same priorities. If you look at what has occurred in the United States Senate since the Republicans took a majority, we immediately returned after winning a historic majority to pass a trillion dollar ‘cromnibus’ bill filled with corporate welfare and pork. Then, the so-called Republican majority voted to fund Obamacare. Then, the so-called Republican majority voted to fund President Obama’s unconstitutional executive amnesty. Then, the so-called Republican majority voted to confirm Loretta Lynch as attorney general. Then, just moments ago, the so-called Republican majority voted to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, an egregious example of cronyism and corporate welfare.
“Every one of those is the priority of the Democratic leader Harry Reid. Every one of those is the priority of the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell. They operate as a team, expanding Washington and undermining the liberty of the people. What we just saw a moment ago is unprecedented in the annals of Senate history. It consisted of the majority leader and the minority leader denying members the ability to have votes on their amendments and indeed the ability even to have a roll call vote. The denial of a second, as you just saw a moment ago, which was aggressively whipped by the majority, is an extraordinary measure designed to gag Senators and enforce the will of the McConnell-Reid leadership team.
“It saddens me as a Republican to see Republican leadership lead the effort to kill an amendment that would have prevented lifting sanctions on Iran unless and until Iran recognizes Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and unless and until Iran releases American hostages. Make no mistake – granting a sufficient second for a roll call vote is done customarily in the United States Senate. Denying it is extraordinary, and it is done as a consequence of the majority leader Mitch McConnell being afraid for his members to be on record on this issue.
“We then, subsequently, saw Senator Mike Lee from Utah bring up his amendment to defund Planned Parenthood. We have seen in recent weeks gruesome videos of senior officials of Planned Parenthood discussing the selling of body parts of unborn children. These videos are horrifying, and yet it saddens me greatly that the Republican leader led the effort to continue the taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.
“Make no mistake — when the majority leader whipped Republicans to vote alongside Democrats, it was no surprise that Democrats did not want to vote on that because Democrats in this chamber do not purport to support the right to life. But to see the so-called Republican leadership whip against allowing a vote to defund Planned Parenthood — it has the virtue of clarity. It makes clear that the McConnell-Reid leadership team is united in favor of big government spending and debt and power.
“The McConnell-Reid leadership team has no interest in cutting off one penny of funds to Planned Parenthood, which is why leader Mitch McConnell just blocked a vote on defunding Planned Parenthood. To the millions of Americans who rallied in November believing if only we got a Republican majority in the Senate something would be different, this was a clarifying and a sad moment.”
Video of Sen. Cruz’s floor speech today can be found above.
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If Trump can make Cruz look comparatively moderate, so that the establishment supports Cruz as a way of avoiding Trump,
Rubio is the GOPe answer to a conservative Cruz. He’s mostly laying low now and waiting for the debates. The beltway GOP will never support Cruz and instead use a fake “conservative” cut out like Rubio.
Makes sense. The low-information Republican voters will probably look at Rubio as "that nice Hispanic boy" and enjoy his pablum.
He’s amazing. Thanks, onyx!
Not to be quarrelsome at all, but was wondering if you know how many vetoes Bush II issued. I’m thinking it was only one, sadly.
Ted Cruz Ping! I have been a conservative all my life; a registered Republican since 1968, mainly so I could have a voice in what we used have here, a closed Primary.
I have never felt I owed any loyalty or obedience to the Republican Party.
I took my OATH to the CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES!
NOT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
I so hope this man gets elected....
I wonder if he’ll be back on with Rush tomorrow for some follow up.
Looks like 12 vetoes from GW.
http://www.senate.gov/reference/Legislation/Vetoes/BushGW.htm
Clearly not enough.
I’ve heard a few people talk about Trump doing harm to the republican party. I’ve thought, what’s wrong with that? The republican and democrat parties need to be destroyed.
We are voting for Ted Cruz. If he isn’t on the ballot, we will write him in. No more wasted votes on GOPe scoundrels.
Yup! Agree! Bring it all down so we can rid the GOP of the traitors and rebuild again.
I prefer the term “uniparty” but that’s close enough
I see two beltway parties: the marxist party and the pay me party. The GOP is happy to install the progressive agenda as long as their pockets are stuffed with cash to do it.
Here are all of the vetoes of all the presidents. (FDR was a busy fella)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes
Same here, Cruz or nuthin.
OK all. Devils advocate.
Why should a bunch of people that know their voters will elect them ‘no matter what’, who campaign on ‘working with President Obama”, do anything other than do what the people elected told them to?
Because they did promise to work with, not against Barry before the election and people then gave them power.
Bonus: Name the problem with lesser evil idiocy.
I don’t trust McConnell or any gop leadership.
I think McConnell and other gop leaders are just playing to the media and trying to make themselves look like they are doing something.
Think what Cruz said just this week about McConnell lying and also this from Cruzs book.
Cruz on leadership corruption and sellout......
That Tuesday lunch began with our leadership saying, “We’re asking every Republican senator here, to affirmatively consent to lower the threshold for Harry Reid to take up the debt ceiling, from 60 votes to 50 votes. And we were told, everyone of you should agree for two reasons.
Number one, if we do this, it will happen, and hallelujah, hallelujah, that’s what we want. We want trillions more in debt with no spending reforms, because we’re scared of this issue. We don’t want to have a political fight on this.
But number two, if we do this, the Democrats will have the votes to do it on their own, which means all of us Republicans can vote no. And we can go home and tell our constituents, we opposed the thing we just consented to allow happen.
Now, I was sitting there — to be honest, I hadn’t gone to lunch intending to pick a fight, but as I listened to that, I was astonished and I raised my hand, and I said, “There’s no universe in which I can consent to doing that. I spent two years campaigning across Texas, telling Texas, if you elect me, I’ll fight with every breath in my body to stop the out of control spending and debt that are bankrupting our kids and grandkids.”
If were to do that, I think it would be both dishonest and unfaithful to the men and women who elected me.
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