Sen. Ted Cruz has embarrassed himself again on Obamacare by claiming that two Democrats voting to defund the ACA equals stong bipartisan opposition.
In a statement, Sen. Cruz said:
Today, the House of Representatives did what Washington pundits only a few weeks ago said was impossible: a strong bipartisan majority voted to defund Obamacare. This is a victory for House conservatives, and it is a victory for Speaker Boehner and Republican leadership. The American people overwhelmingly oppose Obamacare — a program which is killing jobs, dragging down the economy, and harming the most vulnerable among us. They deserve a fight — and House Republicans are leading that charge.
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But the House was just step one. Step two is the Senate, where all accounts suggest Harry Reid plans to use procedural gimmicks to try to add funding back in for Obamacare.
If Reid pursues this plan — if he insists on using a 50-vote threshold to fund Obamacare with a partisan vote of only Democrats — then I hope that every Senate Republican will stand together and oppose cloture on the bill in order to keep the House bill intact and not let Harry Reid add Obamacare funding back in. Now is a time for party unity; Senate Republicans should stand side-by-side with courageous House Republicans. The fight to save America from Obamacare is just beginning — it may well go back and forth from the House and Senate several times — and a united Republican front means that Harry Reid and the President cannot ignore the American people.
Cruz is excited because after 42 votes to kill Obamacare, the House finally got two Democrats to vote for defunding the ACA. The two Democrats Reps. Jim Matheson (UT) and Mike McIntyre (NC) are 32 fewer Democrats than voted against the original legislation in 2010. Just think, maybe by the House’s 84 vote to repeal or defund Obamacare 4 Democrats might support it. Instead of bipartisan opposition growing against Obamacare, it’s actually shrinking. By any measure, Ted Cruz’s math was completely wrong.
Maple Leaf Teddy is trying to pull a fast one here. Everyone expected the House bill to pass, just like the other 41 attempts to get rid of Obamacare have passed. After earning the wrath of Republicans who called him “ball less” for trying to bail on supporting his own plan to use funding the government to defund Obamacare, Sen. Cruz was trying to dig himself out of the hole. He was trying to sound like a party leader, but notice that Cruz still hasn’t promised that he will go to the mat and fight for the House bill.
Ted Cruz wants to be president, but much like Sarah Palin, he can’t even do basic math.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
