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Ted Cruz assails fellow Republicans senators for 'trickery'



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CNN Political Unit

Beaumont, Texas (CNN) - Sen. Ted Cruz accused his own Republican leadership of �trickery� in trying to force a �show vote� on raising the debt ceiling last week, warning Republicans will get �clobbered in the polls� for not standing up for principle.

"What Republican leadership said is we want this to pass, but if every senator affirmatively consents to doing it on 51 votes, then we can all cast a vote no and we can go home to our constituents and say we opposed it. And listen, that sort of show vote, that sort of trickery to the - to the constituents is why Congress has a 13 percent approval rating.


In my view, we need to be honest with our constituents. And last week, what it was all about was truth and transparency. I think all 45 Republicans should have stood together and said of course not.,� Cruz told CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash in a network exclusive interview airing on CNN.

Last week, Cruz angered many fellow Republicans by blocking a vote to raise the debt ceiling and forcing them to take a politically perilous vote.

Cruz's move meant 60 votes were needed to avoid defaulting on America�s loans � so GOP leaders voted against Cruz' filibuster, which put them in the crosshairs of conservatives and frustrated with Cruz

�Go back to those Senate lunches. I - I won't identify anything, but I'll - I'll tell you several people raised a question just like you did there - why are you trying to throw five Republicans under the bus and make them vote for raising the debt ceiling?

And I'll tell you my response. My response is I don't want to throw any Republicans under the bus. I would like to see all 45 Republicans stand together and actually do what we tell our constituents.�

Bash asked whether � on a human level � whether it stings to have so many fellow senators from his own party so angry with him.

�As a human being, I can't control what they say, how they behave. I can control what I do. So every interaction that I have with every senator, Republican or Democrat, is consistently civil, courteous, respectful, treating them with - with the dignity that they deserve, � replied Cruz.

Here are other highlights from the interview:

Not worried about standing with other Republicans: Cruz fortified his standing among grassroots conservatives with his opposition to the debt ceiling deal. Last year he was one of the leaders of conservatives who blocked an agreement that would have avoided the 16-day partial federal government shutdown in an effort to defund President Barack Obama�s health care law. If Cruz is worried about relationships with other Republicans in the Senate, he didn't sound like it.

"What I try to keep an eye on is I don�t work for the party bosses in Washington. I work for 26 million Texans,� he said.

Cruz stood by his attempt to block the debt ceiling votes, insisting his efforts were based on transparency and fairness to conservative voters, not to political damage his colleagues in the GOP.

�The funny thing is what I told the voters of Texas, I guarantee you all 45 Republican senators tell voters in their states the same thing, which is they're going to lead the fight to stop the spending and to stop the debt and if 45 Republicans had stood together, nobody gets thrown under the bus.�

Ted on Ted: Republicans have been called to distance themselves from the aging rock star, who has been a frequent GOP campaigner, after he called Obama a "subhuman mongrel." Cruz said he doesn�t share Nugent�s sentiment but, �There's a reason� people listen to him.�

�He has been fighting passionately for Second Amendment rights," Cruz said of Nugent. "And this administration has demonstrated an incredible hostility to the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens."

Cruz suggested a double standard in news coverage, insisting that incendiary comments from the left don't get the same attention.

Backbone wins elections: Some Republicans fear Cruz's image outside of the conservative wing might cost them an opportunity to take back the Senate. But Cruz said it's Republicans backing down from principles that's costing them elections.

"The Washington establishment think Republicans win elections by you don't stand for anything, you keep your head down, you don't rock the boat. You know what? Every time we do that we get clobbered in the polls,� Cruz said.

Cruz pointed to the midterm elections in 2010, when the tea party wave swept Republicans into the majority in the House, as the only recent election where his party took a stand.

Obama 'utterly ineffectual' against Putin: Cruz called the Obama administration�s policy toward Russia and the unrest in Ukraine �misguided.�

�You know, if you look at the last five years, one of the tragic results is U.S. leadership has been receding. We have been shrinking. And into that vacuum others, like Iran, like Russia, have expanded. Putin is trying to reassemble the old Soviet Union and - and this administration's foreign policy has been utterly ineffectual standing up to prevent that.�

A shot at a possible rival: Cruz dismissed possible 2016 GOP presidential rival Rand Paul's criticism of Bill Clinton's "predatory behavior" in the White House � he said he had plenty of problems with Clinton's wife.

"I'm a lot less concerned with Bill Clinton's escapades decades ago than I am with Hillary Clinton's consistently wrong record when it comes to foreign policy, when it comes to domestic policy,� Cruz said of the comments from the GOP senator from Kentucky.

"Throughout her tenure, Hillary Clinton has embraced the same far-left agenda. Before Obamacare there was Hillarycare. And that agenda hurts people who are struggling.�

Calling out Kerry, doubting climate change: Cruz said that the data on global warming doesn�t support environmental activists� argument.

"You always have to be worried about something that is considered a so-called 'scientific theory' that fits every scenario. Climate change, as they've defined it, can never be disproved,� he said.

He called Secretary of State John Kerry�s remarks that climate change is a national security threat �ironic� considering the other major crises rocking the world.

Secretary of State John Kerry�s recent comments that climate change ranks among the world's most serious problems has sparked outrage, particularly from Republicans.

"He sees a greater threat from your SUV than he does to Iranian nuclear weapons,� Cruz said.

The other Senator from Texas might get the message this election.

Maybe.

The problem is, when Ted shines the light on these roaches, they look right into it & say, "GFY". Gotta carve 'em out, one at a time. They're just too powerful to beat too many at a time.

Ted is positioning himself for a major "I told you so moment", after the American public has felt enough pain.

Notice, I did not say the public would ever see the light.

Oh I hope so Cornyn is a huge RINO...

plus 1!

New Poll Shows John Cornyn Heading Into Runoff With Steve Stockman for U.S. Senate



A new poll suggests what many have known all along -- John Cornyn is at best lukewarm with Republican primary voters. A runoff is beginning to look more likely as the last 5 known polls taken on the race for the U.S. Senate nomination have Cornyn with less than 50% support. That's always bad news for an incumbent. The good news for Cornyn is 2nd place has typically been taken by "Unsure," a name that won't actually be appearing on the ballot.
Cornyn's biggest asset besides his enormous war chest, is his lack of a high-profile and credible candidate, he just happens to have one of each (talk about splitting the vote!). His high-profile candidate who typically comes in behind "unsure" is Congressman Steve Stockman who received 28% in the latest poll, while Cornyn took just 43%. But, the more credible candidate Dwayne Stovall has been quietly (as far as media attention is concerned) gathering Tea Party endorsements and straw poll victories across the state.

The Tea party hasn't endorsed anyone for Cornyn's seat....they just don't want Cornyn. Unless the vote is concentrated for someone other than Cornyn, he wins the primary.

Pat...here is another conservative's take on the issue:
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Strassel: Another Misguided Cruz Missile

Ted Cruz is aiming for Mitch McConnell, but he may blow up the GOP's chances for a Senate majority in November.

By
Kimberley A. Strassel

Feb. 20, 2014 7:23 p.m. ET

A rump band of Beltway conservatives has seen the enemy and it is not Harry Reid. It is Mitch McConnell, whose scalp is apparently worth blowing yet another shot at a Republican Senate majority.

There's a new dividing line in the conservative movement�between a majority who'd like to win against President Obama, and a handful who'd like to win some scalps. It was on vivid display last week during the Senate debt-ceiling vote. Republicans were looking to avoid a fight they were destined to lose. Democrats had the votes to pass the bill with a simple majority, meaning they also would have owned their president's refusal to tackle the debt.

In walked Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to demand a 60-vote majority to pass the increase. Mr. Cruz has subsequently claimed he alone was attempting to get Mr. Obama to agree to spending reforms. Odd, given that he didn't publicly present any reforms to attach to the debt bill. He didn't take to the floor to escalate the issue. To the contrary, he agreed to speed up the vote.

There was only one point to Mr. Cruz's action: To force Republican colleagues, in particular Mr. McConnell, into voting "yes" to proceed to the actual bill. Mr. Cruz has admitted as much, bragging to radio host Mark Levin the next day that his colleagues' "heads exploded" because he'd "forced" them to "tell the truth"�namely, that they "wanted" to give Barack Obama a "blank check to raise our debt." Never mind that every Republican, once past the Cruz show vote, opposed the increase on final passage.

Members of Congress routinely cook up situations that force opposing parties to take "tough votes." This may be the first time a senator did so solely to damage his own party. It may also be the first time a senator has used the privileges afforded him under Senate rules to benefit a small and coordinated band of conservative campaign groups. Their No. 1 target is Mr. McConnell, who Mr. Cruz hasn't forgiven for failing to embrace his damaging shutdown.

The breadth and coordination of these groups was striking. First came Heritage Action�which was created in 2010 by the Heritage Foundation, which is itself run by Cruz-promoter Jim DeMint �explaining it would mark down in its legislative scorecard any senator who voted to move beyond Mr. Cruz's procedural hurdle. Within minutes of Mr. McConnell voting to proceed, his opponent in the Kentucky primary, Matt Bevin, had tweeted out that his rival had given "Obama another blank check."

The Senate Conservatives Fund (SCF), which is backing Mr. Bevin, also immediately blasted Mr. McConnell for voting "with the Democrats to advance yet another debt limit increase." The group, founded by Mr. DeMint and now run by a former DeMint staffer, released a Web video that was already trashing Mr. McConnell on the debt ceiling. The blog site Red State, on cue, praised the ad, instructed readers to "Send Senate Conservatives Fund As Much As You Can NOW," and also complained that Mr. McConnell had given the president a "blank check." The Madison Project, also backing Mr. Bevin, put out a mirror release: "Mitch McConnell Votes to Give Obama a Blank Check."

On Thursday, Mr. Cruz told me his debt procedure was a matter of principle, though he acknowledged an "additional benefit" was the "transparency" he'd forced on Republicans. He told me he had not "spoken to anyone at SCF in months." However, when I asked if anyone on his staff had been in contact with outside groups about his debt-ceiling procedure, he acknowledged: "My staff periodically speaks with people across the conservative movement." He added, "But the debt ceiling vote occurred suddenly and it was a surprise to everybody when Republican leadership asked every Republican senator to consent to letting Harry Reid raise the debt ceiling."

In addition to Mr. McConnell, conservative groups are targeting senators John Cornyn (Texas), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Thad Cochran (Miss.), and Lindsey Graham (S.C.). While the primary challengers aren't likely to win (Mr. Bevin is trailing by 25 points), the attacks are hurting incumbents' general-election prospects.

None of this is about substance. If political principle were at stake, one would assume these outside groups�so keen on purity�would have already dropped Mr. Bevin. It came out recently that he had once praised the very bank bailouts that he has been slapping Mr. McConnell for supporting.

Mr. McConnell holds the same positions as Mr. Cruz on spending, ObamaCare, gun control, etc. His sin? He has refused to ask Republicans to run into the Obama fixed bayonets, a la the Cruz shutdown. Groups like SCF and Heritage Action want to replace the leadership with more of their own kamikaze caucus. They also understand there are far more fundraising dollars and media attention in attacking fellow conservatives.

Republicans have fumbled their last two Senate takeover chances, mostly thanks to infighting. But this latest movement�to take down incumbents over tactics�is a new low. If the GOP remains a minority, this will be why.

Not if he get's less than 50% of the vote. That's why he, and Karl Rove, is spending $16 million on political advertisement. This election is important to the entire country...the other candidates can't even afford a single TV commercial. It's a referendum on the establishment.
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SUBCHAPTER B. RUNOFF ELECTIONSec.

2.021. RUNOFF ELECTION REQUIRED. If no candidate for a particular office receives the vote necessary to be elected in an election requiring a majority vote, a runoff election for that office is required.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986.

Sec. 2.022. CONFLICTS WITH OTHER LAW. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a law outside this subchapter supersedes this subchapter to the extent of any conflict.(b) Sections 2.023 and 2.028 supersede a law outside this subchapter to the extent of any conflict.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 211, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1986. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 652, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 2.023. RUNOFF CANDIDATES. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (c), the candidates in a runoff election are the candidates who receive the highest and second highest number of votes in the main election or who tie for the highest number of votes.

It will be interesting to see who the Tea Party chooses should there be a run off.....Stockman's disappearance hasn't helped him. Regardless, a strong message will be sent to Cornyn, maybe he'll get the message.

She's not a conservative.

There's no doubt who they will pick. Stockman didn't "disappear", he was out of the country. That's just another straw the liberal media is grasping at. Sixteen million dollars buys a lot of muck, especially when there is no competition for it. You'll notice that none of the other candidates are saying anything bad about Cornyn, other than his record? ALL Cornyn is saying is that the others are crazy, criminal, amateurish, etc. The John Wayne music in his advertisements must be Roves idea.

I thought this was going to be another Nuge thread!!

He's in the mix, but you know how that is...they want him around, but not too close.

We are better served if the various Tea Parties in Texas work for different individuals like Stockman and Stovall. Even primary write in votes for Mickey Mouse help the cause since they add to the total number of votes that DON'T go to Cornyn.

"Anyone but Cornyn" ain't gonna be on the ballot, but it's a good strategy at this point.

Yes! This race is very difficult for the Republican establishment to bear, because the standard scare tactic of "If you don't vote for our guy, you'll get a Democrat!", doesn't apply. Guys like McCain and McConnell have been running on that platform for years.

And that's the message Cornyn needs to get.

Cornyn would be a real step up in an R Senator exchange with a lot of Red States.

But........... Texas can do better.

I wonder why all of the MSM is coming to the rescue of the (R) establisment? MSNBC is suddenly supporting "Republicans".
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Former Republican Congressman: Ted Cruz Should Leave The Party

LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, MSNBC HOST: Well, let's go back to what Ted Cruz said. We just heard him say this: 'The single thing that Republican politicians hate and fear the most, that is when they're forced to tell the truth.'

I got to say, if I just submitted to that to you, Steve, as a blind quote, I didn't tell you where that came from in your wildest dreams, would you pin that on a Republican United States Senator?

FMR. REP. STEVE LaTOURETTE (R-OH): Well, sadly you can't do that anymore because I would know exactly where that came from.

O'DONNELL: Yeah.

LaTOURETTE: But the fact of the matter is, I mean, it's those kinds of statements that are just irresponsible. And if you go back to the government shutdown. I mean, this guy is a bomb thrower, he's a flame thrower, but he's got no exit strategy, he's got no Plan B. He doesn't have the responsibility of governing, which Mitch McConnell does. I think that he can go on Mark Levin's show and say whatever the heck he wants.

O'DONNELL: Well, I mean, a guy who says the single thing that Republican politicians hate and fear the most is telling the truth, Steve, why is he a Republican?

LaTOURETTE: Well, I don't think he is a Republican, to tell you the truth. I wish he would stop being a Republican and leave the party. That would be a nice thing. He's really a libertarian. I mean, he comes out of the Ron Paul wing of the libertarian wing of the party, and, you know, they use the Republican party as a vehicle to get elected, but once in it, they want to cannibalize it and criticize it. If he spent half as much energy trying to defeat Democrats and gain control of the Senate as he does bashing other Republicans, we'd have 60 votes in the Senate.