Majority Leader Harry Reid called Senator Ted Cruz’s epic 21-hour speech on the Senate floor “a big waste of time.” The New York Times pulled no punches in its description of the event:
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the public face of the aimless and self-destructive Tea Party strategy to stop health care reform, began an endless floor speech on Tuesday with the theme of “make D.C. listen.” But even his Republican colleagues had long since stopped paying attention to his corrosive bombast, tired of his pious insults to his own party and unimpressed with his eagerness to shut down the government in pursuit of an ideological dream.
Republican Congressman Peter King, rumored to be seriously considering a presidential run in 2016, called Cruz “a fraud.”
Is he? Cruz’s effort inspired the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, to say, “In a battle between Ted Cruz and Harry Reid, we must stand with Senator Cruz.” Writing in the Washington Examiner, Timothy P. Carney said, “This ‘Make D.C. Listen’ effort is exactly how Cruz has infuriated his fellow Republicans – by going over their heads and straight to the voters.”
And even the New York Times grudgingly gave Cruz his due, referring to his “indefatigable loquaciousness” in being able to stay at it for 21 hours.
We’ve heard from all the pundits and commentators. Now it’s your turn. Was Cruz’s 21-hour marathon speech a self-promoting stunt or a valiant effort to defund Obamacare? Leave your answer in the comments below. If you’re not registered to comment yet, please take a few seconds to do so.
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