Thread: Ted Cruz to Rush Limbaugh: GOP Is 'Defeatist'

National Journal
By Alex Seitz-Wald
September 25, 2013

"There's an alliance between the Democrats ... and many of the Republicans who are scared of this fight," Cruz said of the criticism he's sustained in recent days from within his own party. And losing on Obamacare is "honestly the outcome that more than a few [GOPers] desire," he added.

Ted Cruz to Rush Limbaugh: GOP Is 'Defeatist'

After his lengthy speech, the senator takes to Rush Limbaugh's show to slam his colleagues.


(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Just about an hour after ending his marathon speech on the Senate floor, Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas took to Rush Limbaugh's airwaves to slam his GOP colleagues for not backing him up.

Cruz said the Senate GOP Conference is beset by a "defeatist attitude" and warned that if Limbaugh attended a single meeting, he'd need years of therapy to deal with the trauma. Republicans, he said, want a "show vote ... rather than actually fighting."

"Mike Lee and I have been attending the meetings with Republican senators for months and asked, does anyone have a plan [to deal with Obamacare]? There's never been a plan," he said, so he stepped in. Cruz has been trying to force a confrontation over a government funding bill, which must get passed before Tuesday to avert a government shutdown.

"There's an alliance between the Democrats ... and many of the Republicans who are scared of this fight," Cruz said of the criticism he's sustained in recent days from within his own party. And losing on Obamacare is "honestly the outcome that more than a few [GOPers] desire," he added.

Cruz repeated his insistence that any Republican who votes for cloture on a bill to fund the government "is voting to defend Obamacare," and that if Republicans protest otherwise, they're fooling the American people. "A lot of Republicans are going to claim, no, no, no--their vote for cloture is in support of the House vote, which is simply not the case. It's a show vote," he said.

Cruz read a lengthy passage written by Limbaugh's father during his non-filibuster "filibuster" and praised the radio host. The two of them agree on so much, Cruz said, because they listen to "the same bosses ... the American people."


http://www.nationaljournal.com/congr...atist-20130925

Behind Ted Cruz’s 21-Hour, GOP-Bashing, Anti-Obamacare Crusade

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