Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) appeared on the Andrea Tantaros Show today. The Texan has come under criticism from New York Times columnist David Brooks, among others, for his and Sen. Mike Lee’s drive to tie raising the debt ceiling to defunding Obamacare. The president’s signature law comes into full effect next month, and Cruz argues that the next couple of weeks may be the nation’s last chance to void the law. Obama is threatening a government shutdown to preserve funding for Obamacare. If Obama executes a shutdown, he intends to blame it on Republicans in Congress as a set-up for the 2014 mid-term elections.
In recent commentary, the establishment man Brooks warns of “the rise of Ted Cruz-ism.” He even opines that Cruz is not a “legislator in the normal sense,” meaning that Cruz didn’t go to Congress to make alliances and pass legislation.
Fair enough. Cruz went to Washington more to stop or repeal bad legislation than to pass any new laws. During his interview with Tantaros, Cruz admits as much. He also counsels against prematurely surrendering on the Obamacare funding fight. Cruz notes that his web site, dontfundit.com, has already attracted more than 1.3 million Americans to sign a petition against funding Obamacare. He also tells Tantaros that the most resistance to defunding Obamacare now is coming not from Democrats, but from Republicans.
Listen to the entire bracing interview here.
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It’s worth remembering that David Brooks, the Times’ house Republican, was beguiled by and smitten with Barack Obama in 2008. He even praised the quality of the then senator’s pant leg crease.
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