Until now, even his worst enemies thought Ted Cruz was the real deal—a Tea Party conservative who wouldn’t compromise his principles for money, votes or anything else.
Cruz and his sidekick, Mike Lee—two Senate Republicans—have been campaigning against Obamacare, calling for defunding the program even at the expense of a government shutdown. They’ve implored Republicans in the House to stand firm, accusing anyone who waffles of being a “surrender monkey.”
"Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so. At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people," Cruz said.
Huh? What happened to Senate support? Now that the tune has changed, House Republicans are doing the stomp instead of a waltz, and they’re furious.
After raking in financial contributions and acquiring voter names from their televised ads, Cruz and Lee have tossed what Chuck Schumer has called a hot potato that the two have ignited and tossed it back to the House.
Meanwhile, a growing number of top Republicans – including Rep. Peter King (R-NY), Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and pundits like Karl Rove, Charles Krauthammer and even Glenn Beck – have called the “defunding strategy” faulty.
The discord among Republicans is palpable. To voters, it’s like children squabbling in a sandbox.
