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DonViejo

(60,536 posts)
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 10:33 AM Feb 2014

Ted Cruz just doomed the GOP — but not in the way you think

He won a small battle with his debt limit gambit, but also made the GOP's extortion tactics much harder. Here's why

BRIAN BEUTLER


Last week the seams holding together factions of the Republican party burst open once again. And once again, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was the guy scraping at them with a scalpel. He didn’t shut down the government, or talk himself hoarse on the Senate floor. But he did spoil his leadership’s plan to let Senate Democrats increase the debt limit on their own without implicating any individual Republicans — including the highest-ranking Republican, who just happens to be in the midst of an unexpectedly tough election.

This can get a little technical. But suffice it to say that Republicans — for once! — wanted to not filibuster a bill. To avoid the whole 60-vote requirement they’ve made so routine, and just get on to the up-or-down final passage vote. Let 50 Dems and Vice President Biden do all the dirty work.

But ending debate on a bill and going directly to final passage requires consent from everyone in the Senate, and Cruz refused to provide his. Now several Republicans, including Mitch McConnell himself, must wear scarlet letters whenever they face conservative activists, all because Cruz wanted to court another damaging confrontation with Obama and wants the people denying it to him to suffer for their actions.

The bad blood has grown redolent.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., one of the Republicans who helped end Cruz’s filibuster, sent his 1.86 million Twitter followers to a “must read” Wall Street Journal editorial titled “The Minority Maker: Ted Cruz hurts his party by forcing a meaningless debt-ceiling vote.”

more
http://www.salon.com/2014/02/17/ted_cruz_just_doomed_the_gop_but_not_in_the_way_you_think/
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Cha

(297,481 posts)
8. The only drawback is..
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 03:46 AM
Feb 2014

we have to look at a damn ugly picture of him every time we go to a cruz link.

 

PeoViejo

(2,178 posts)
3. St. John McCain engages in a little retribution agains Cruz....
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 01:57 PM
Feb 2014

not realizing that it will hurt other GOP Candidates.

These guys have the Circular Firing Squad down to an Art Form.

 

Jim Lane

(11,175 posts)
5. I wonder if, contrary to what most people are saying, McConnell might benefit.
Mon Feb 17, 2014, 02:53 PM
Feb 2014

Yes, his vote for cloture gives some ammo to Bevin, his Tea Party challenger. OTOH, it will be a big deal mainly to the people who were already predisposed to support Bevin. It may cost McConnell very few votes in the Republican primary.

Then, in the general election, he can point to that vote as proof of his supposed moderation. There's a natural tendency among some people to split the difference, to assume that truth must always lie between two contending "extremes" (even if one isn't extreme). If McConnell survives the primary, he can sell himself as the sensible moderate choice between the Bevin/Cruz on the right and Grimes on the left.

Cha

(297,481 posts)
7. HAHAHAHAHA! I read something about this last week but didn't
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 03:44 AM
Feb 2014

quite understand it. This explains it precisely well!

"But he did spoil his leadership’s plan to let Senate Democrats increase the debt limit on their own without implicating any individual Republicans."

So ted cruz is a minority maker and he actually helped the DEMS and hurt the Repubs. He might have helped that idiot in Kentucky who's primarying mitch.. but that helps Alison Lundergan Grimes, right? Which, since I've gone to the link I see I'm not the only one thinking along those lines.. kinda obvious!

"But to the extent that the right’s shared ambition is to actually revive debt limit brinksmanship in the future, Cruz undermined the cause." Ol Mark Levin didn't think of that one, did he? hmmmm?

Btw, mark Levin must be a real sicko to be impressed by ted scruz.

Thanks DonViejo~

DFW

(54,426 posts)
10. If McCain really believes that, he's missing the point, as usual
Tue Feb 18, 2014, 11:32 AM
Feb 2014

Cruz is not about helping or hurting his party.

Cruz is about keeping Cruz in the headlines. Whether or not that helps or hurts his party is of no great concern to him.

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