TBD on Ning
a simply great look at cruz
and if you believe him, he may be right
Ted Cruz Thinks You're Stupid
Sunday, on CBS’ Face the Nation, the junior senator from the State of Oblivion said—and I’m not making this up—“I didn’t threaten to shut down the government the last time. I don’t think we should ever shut down the government. I repeatedly voted… to fund the federal government.”
What? More than any other actor in last year’s budget debacle, Ted Cruz is responsible. Just a cursory glance at the record puts the lie to his blatant blame-shifting. Beginning with his “not-really-a-filibuster” publicity stunt, Cruz whipped up the national Tea Party base, emboldened House GOP radicals, and cowed the Republican leadership. After his Green Eggs and Ham soliloquy, sanity left the building and a shutdown was almost inevitable.
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Even in the face of crushing poll numbers and Wall Street panic, his constant rants bolstered the Tea Party radicals’ resolve to force a budget Armageddon. In the midst of the maelstrom, he congratulated Tea Party wing nuts for their obstructionism, telling the Values Voters Summit, “It is because of you that the House of Representatives has been standing strong.”
Not content to simply sabotage sanity in the Senate, Cruz convened a semi-secret conclave of Tea Party House members to craft a counter-attack on to any potential Senate compromise. Imagine that—a junior senator directing strategy for the back-bench insurgents in the House—a strategy every Republican leader now admits was a political and economic disaster.
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Does Ted Cruz really think he can get away with re-writing history? Despite having long ago plighted his troth to the lunatic right, he is certainly trying. But why?
Because, above all things he is the consummate ambitious opportunist. With Chris Christie’s 2016 juggernaut at least temporarily in the ditch, Cruz may see an opening. If he can re-invent himself as a moderate-sounding statesman who still owns the hearts of the Tea Party loyalists, he may think he has a winning coalition in the 2016 GOP presidential nominating sweepstakes.
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Could this work? He knows he’s in a tough spot as a “Tea Party darling.” The country has soured on obstructionist politicians and the Tea Party in particular. Poll after poll reveals an angry American electorate, disgusted with the “just say no” agenda. Cruz is bound to catch a lot of this hell, personally.
Worse news for Cruz, the old guard is striking back. Establishment Republicans, congressional leaders, corporate CEO’s, Wall Street poobahs, the Chamber of Commerce and the whole panoply of GOP establishment business organizations have begun to counterattack.
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While it remains to be seen whether the old guard can overcome the new Koch-backed insurgency, and their byzantine labyrinth of interlocking dark-money groups, Ted Cruz isn’t taking any chances. With his “Who me?” revisionism, Cruz is looking to position himself as the standard-bearer of both camps. If he can don the toga praetexta of a statesman, Cruz may think he’s found the key to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
This is a breathtakingly bold gambit. Yet Cruz seems to believe he has the chops to pull it off.
READ MORE The GOP’s Glaring SOTU Hypocrisies
Of course, while tries to play against type, he still can’t resist the old urge to kick over the furniture. When asked by Bob Schieffer in that same interview, “Will you agree to raise the debt ceiling, or will you demand something in return?” Cruz replied, “Look, of course, we should do something. We shouldn’t just write a blank check.”
Those are code words for “I’m going to demagogue, obfuscate, obstruct and bloviate about big government until the cows come home, or at least as long as I can get lots of press doing it.”
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by LoveLife&Laughter on
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Yeah, Cruz et.al. have been bragging about shutting down the government then, and now again. Anything to force their dictatorial demands on the rest of us regardless of what we want or how we feel.
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Permalink Reply by exedir on
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What all of this does is represents why we have a political freeze and governmental lockjaw, a divided and incapable process. The president's way is of course limited, he has powers and they can be unilateral but they are not unlimited. As long as we have this republic and democracy it is the people(people that vote) and the government for the people, of the people, by the people...or not.
Many people's of the world are struggling with what they expect of their governments and what their governments can do, our republic is wrought with something similar, and no, not revolution, yet. The main compliant of most everyone is status and inequality, and that has been defined by societies in different ways, some more secular, some significantly less, and some would have a religious hegemony excluding all other beliefs.
What is necessary is leadership that works together, and leadership that sees the destructive power of self-interest. However, most of what we see is filtered, opaque and presented to a confused and discouraged electorate that sees no hope or change in anyone or anything. And yes, we are digging the hole deeper, not trying to fill it in with reconciliation and action or making such demands of our representatives.
So what to do? Not the bloody shirt, that will be the way to death and destruction, see Syria. But what we do need is some sort of consensus and leadership, and one can only hope that it will come out of this mess. We can never loss hope, the alternative...
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Permalink Reply by ProblemAgain on
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actually the point was that cruz is a lying sack of shit...there isn't any other lesson intended or implied...
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"it is the people(people that vote)" which the right is trying to strangle and force-fit into something similar to their own little narrow minds. How? Deceit, Non-stop haranguse of one sided Propaganda, ... just plain lies.
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Actually the president's panel on elections which included the left and right had much to add to how to make the vote more prevalent and broad. The Voting Rights section struck down by the Court was useful in dealing with abuse and intimidation of voters, as to whether and what might be authorized by Congress is doubtful and a non-starter, if ever, after the mid-term elections.
If there was anything that might induce the process are things like registration online, and if you have a driver's license you are also registered to vote. The idea that it should not take more then a 30 minute wait might be unrealistic, it should be a goal to always make the vote convenient, however, I do believe that the right to vote though important does require appropriate verification which photo ID would be one.
As to Cruz, he is only one senator of 100, and should be a representative not only of the district and state, but the good of the country. I don't know what the ambitions are of Senator Cruz, but I do think he has a right to express and act on what he believes, subject to his constituents continuing him in office.
As to the state of Texas, well, they were a republic and now a state in the Union and the voters have expressed their will, until the next election.
And yes, he can and should be subject to scrutiny and criticism of his ideas and actions, it is the American way; left, right or in between.
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When it comes to a dictatorship like the Tea Party, one talking head is as good as any other. They all use the the same bumper sticker talking points regardless of how stupid it makes them look. If they don't -- it's primary time for them.
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the really scarey part is that ted cruz might be right about his followers...here's an actual response to that piece...
"Ted is right. He was behind a number of budgets the House passed. It was the Dems, who insisted on a bigger budget.
The big mistake the Republicans made was caving. They should have stuck to their budget. They should have called Obama's bluff on the default."now you notice, the writer doesn't seem to comprehend the difference between a budget and a debt ceiling? and he gives false credit to cruz for passing budgets when he is a junior senator from by gawd texas. perhaps the writer doesn't comprehend the magnitude of what a debt default would mean to the country. that the money he uses to pay his bills is only acceptable because it is 'backed by the full faith and credit of the united states of america'. a debt default would render the united states a deadbeat thus freeing the currency to find a new level. instead of a premium currency in which to park assets as cash, we might be able to watch it achieve a status like the german mark in the 20's....but then what can we expect from a certain segment of the populace....
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