“Madam President, I rise today in opposition to ObamaCare. I rise today in an effort to speak for 26 million Texans and for 300 million Americans.
All across this country Americans are suffering because of ObamaCare. ObamaCare isn’t working. Yet fundamentally there are politicians in this body who are not listening to the people. They are not listening to the concerns of their constituents, they are not listening to the jobs lost or the people forced into part-time work, to the people losing their health insurance, to the people who are struggling.
A great many Texans, a great many Americans feel they don’t have a voice. I hope to play some very small part in helping provide that voice for them. I intend to speak in opposition to ObamaCare, I intend to speak in support of defunding ObamaCare, until I am no longer able to stand, to do everything I can to help Americans stand together and recognize this grand experiment 3 1/2 years ago is, quite simply, not working.” — Senator Ted Cruz, Texas (R)
The phrase “bold differences” comes to mind when I think why it was important that Senator Cruz stand up for his constituents, and the majority of the country, who does not support Obamacare.
It’s important to make clear where you stand on issues in stark contrast with your opponents. Too often the GOP shrinks from this important part of connecting with their base in the false hope that they’ll win someone in the press or beltway over to their side — despite years of evidence that the left will use moderates as useful idiots to fill time on Sunday shows until they need to destroy that person when they threaten a Democrat directly.
In other words, John McCain.
Yes, it’s unlikely that defund will ever succeed with this petulant narcissist of a President in the White House and his key lackey Senator Harry Reid. The base knows this intrinsically, Ted Cruz knows this, and even John Boehner and GOP leadership know this. All of them are working on different tactical solutions to force two things:
1. Clarity on the GOP’s reasoning for opposition to Obamacare.
2. Making space to force negotiations on Obamacare.
There’s already rumors that the House may counter with a CR that includes a delay of the individual mandate to bring parity to the already delayed employer mandate. If you throw in requiring that subsidies be verified before pay-out in order to confirm what level of debt ceiling increase would be necessary, you have two very winnable positions to fight Obamacare implementation — and to protect the American people from being forced to purchase insurance or pay a penalty. It would also stop the inevitable fraud that a system with unverified subsidies would generate.
Even these efforts may fail, but nothing ventured is nothing gained as the saying goes.
If you are going to choose a hill to die on, the Affordable Care Act is it.
The depressing part of this saga is the people on the right who denigrate Cruz’s motivations as merely political or ego-driven. One, as if that is surprising. uh, he’s a politician. They’re all political. And two, since when did we despise ambitious successful people? If you find yourself sounding like the left when you talk about Ted Cruz, you may have gone off the reservation and need to rethink your position.
Further, if you are whining that voters are calling you may have misunderstood your role in DC.
Back at the Capitol. Anger among Repub sens vs Cruz is simmering. One source says admn assts in 2 offices have cried due to neg Right calls
— Robert Costa (@robertcostaNRO) September 25, 2013
One might also realize that such harsh measures are being forced on the Republicans because we have a President who is obstinate, defiant of the rule of law, and unwilling to negotiate. The GOP is not the recalcitrant party here. It’s the White House and the Democrats who even on the floor the other night admitted the law was very flawed, but yet are unwilling to delay implementation despite clear evidence that it’s failing.
Further, as some highlighted, if Ted was merely building up presidential ambitions, why would he have so graciously provided Senator Rubio a great forum to make inroads in repairing his relationship with base? It was wonderful to see Senator Rubio back in his wheel house, defining the American dream and what it means to the world.
Further, I’m grateful to see Republicans shifting to a platform that focuses on the destructive collusion between big government and big business that is destroying access to the American dream. The middle class and working poor are being left behind more and more as moneyed interests work to define larger barriers to entry to keep out new entrants, to stifle innovation, and to destroy competition. This is the fight we need to have to save what makes our country exceptional. It’s a fight worth having even if you think we can’t win today. We fight to win tomorrow.
Regardless of tactical differences among those in the party, Senator Cruz deserves our thanks and admiration for calling to attention — effectively and eloquently over 21 hours and 19 minute discussion – the destructive course that Obamacare has wrought on the average American’s livelihood.
Remember America, if you like your plan (or your doctor), you can lose it.
No one in 2014 is going to say they were going to vote Republican, but suddenly decided to change their minds when they learned that the pesky GOP opposed Obamacare.
There is no downside in powerfully expressing opposition to this law. It will not succeed and it is already failing the American people. The partisan thing to do would be to implement it as written and benefit from the electoral gains from that position.
The right thing to do is to put country above party and do whatever is possible to stop it from harming more individuals now.