Whether he’s one of your top picks for president or not, the Texas Senator should earn some points for speaking the unvarnished, honest-to-goodness truth about how business is done in Washington.[read_more]
Earlier today, Sen. Cruz made an absolutely stunning speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate in which he accused majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) of lying to him and to every other GOP Senator, and of essentially being no different from “the senior Senator from Nevada” (i.e., Harry Reid) in the way he’s handled the Senate on several key issues.
“This Senate operates exactly the same” as it did when Democrats controlled the body, he said. “The same priorities! And let me tell you why. It’s not that this majority doesn’t get things done; it does get things done. But it listens to one and only one voice: That is the voice of the Washington cartel, of the lobbyists on K Street of the big money and big corporations.”
The video of his speech is below. It’s well worth the time to listen.
Is this timed for its value to his presidential campaign? Duh. Is it grand-standing? Clearly, Cruz has a talent for that. But does that change the fact that he’s speaking the truth? Not a bit.
47 comments
This is why Cruz needs to stay in the Senate. The GOP is going to need leaders once McCain and the rest of these geriatric Jackasses are retired.
Snooze on Cruz.
Stump for Trump
Good for Cruz! Of course the RNC and other establishment hacks are LIVID, “How dare he bad-mouth a fellow Republican?! We all need to stick together.” Unity behind corruption and deception is no virtue.
Cruz spoke the truth, and they’ll make him pay fot that.
Patrick Henry.
McChicken has been a disgrace for 30 years.
#TheTruthWillSetYouFree! Cruz #TrucksTheTruth – Not a #ChamberPuppet.
This is precisely why Donald Trump will be the 2016 GOP Prez nominee. Honest hard working peeps are fed up with the DC Cash Cartel, The Tarpists, The Slave Labor Traders, The Derivators, The Globalists and the Wall Street Banksters. Bravo To Cruz. John
He doesn’t deserve any credit for this speech. It was shameful.
& if, if, if Cruz gets the nomination, will he refuse or refund every campaign contribution from the K St, Chamber of Commerce crowd?
Of course not: say one thing, do another
Bingo.
But was it the truth?
I don’t think so. I doubt sincerely that McConnell had a deal in place on these votes before last night. And while he’s right that the Obamacare vote is political theater, so what? Everything he’s ever done in the Senate has been political theater. He’s not moved the ball forward an inch.
McConnell is doing the right thing by letting the Senate work it’s will on Ex-Im Bank, and he’s also getting a vote on Obamacare that Democrats have been blocking. Those are both good things.
How many bills have the House and Senate sent to Obama that he has vetoed?
Yeah,that’s what I thought. The House and the Senate should be making Obama veto bills. They should also cut funding to PP and EPA until they change. We finally have some power in Washington and what good does it do us? None. Nothing has changed. Nothing.
Why make him veto bills? He’s not running again. Wasting the time passing bills that will be vetoed and that we can’t override is pointless. There’s zero political capital to be gained by doing that. It’s exactly the kind of political theater that Cruz was complaining about.
We have some power, but we don’t have enough to do whatever we want. We can control the agenda now in a way we couldn’t, we control the gavels and we write the legislation, but that doesn’t mean we get our way on everything. That takes control of the House, White House and 60 votes in the Senate. Until then, we have to compromise.
Why? Being weak and feeble never won any elections. That’s why 100% of the candidates in 2014 that won campaigned on stopping illegal immigration. Yet, the squishy establishment GOP leadership has done nothing to stop it as Americans continue to die at the hands of illegal aliens.
If you’ve crafted a way for them to stop it using the legislative process that doesn’t cripple the country, please feel free to let them in on the secret.
Kate’s Law would do wonders. So will the “Donald Trump Act” that the House just passed which could cut off federal funding to sanctuary cities if enacted. Funny how much influence The Donald is having in such a short time.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-sanctuary-cities-hearing-20150723-story.html
Don’t give Donald Trump credit for a bill that Duncan Hunter introduced – a bill that he also introduced last year while Donald Trump was still firing celebrities.
Trump had nothing to do with that bill being introduced.
Unlike the squishy establishment GOP leadership, I believe you pass the legislation your constituents put you in office to pass and let the president use his little pen to his hearts content. Some, like lobbyists, would probably consider that a waste of time. On the other hand, the GOP base would consider those bills going to our feckless leader’s desk as getting the job done that the GOP majority in both halves of Congress were put in office to do. Kind of explains the anger the GOP base has with the squishy establishment GOP leadership and the success of The Donald. BTW, The Donald has a double digit lead over the squishy Jeb as we speak. Keep thinking The Donald is insignificant. Thanks to your open primary support, he will probably be Virginia’s next GOP presidential nominee.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/25/poll-donald-trump-leads-gop-field-by-double-digits-with-double-the-support-of-jeb-bush/
Again, if you can’t pass that legislation, there’s no point in wasting time trying. It’s not as if this stuff is hard to figure out. If enough Senators tell you they aren’t voting for something, putting it up and watching it lose is pointless. That’s not lobbyists talking, that’s common sense.
McConnell doesn’t have the 60 votes he needs to pass what you want him to pass. Demanding that he try to do things he can’t do just makes him look weak, which puts us in a bad position vis-a-viz the Democrats.
Trump won’t be the nominee, because he’s going to flame out before this process completes. You don’t speak for the base of the party, just the folks who don’t understand what’s going on and are thus angry about it.
I guess you don’t know much about accountability. You make the squishy establishment types vote so that we, the common people have a record of their lack of principles. We the people know exactly what is going on, and it is making us angrier at each capitulation to the Obumbler regime. Does their passing TPA ring any warning bells? If the squishy establishment leadership is following your lead, it is no wonder the base is ready to throw the bums out.
I know plenty about accountability. And what I know is that you don’t hold people accountable for things outside their control. This isn’t a situation where there’s a lack of principles or capitulation to the President or anything else. You’re complaining that McConnell can’t force through Obamacare repeals and the like, when you should know that he doesn’t have the votes, and has no viable way of getting the votes. Almost every Democrat who would have voted against Obamacare lost last year. The votes just aren’t there.
When you are actually in charge, have to make decisions about what’s best for the country and how to move the ball forward, these kinds of games are a sideshow at best. They make little overall impact, other than as fodder for a press release or a fundraising email. And apparently keeping the uninformed base happy.
In the end, though, they don’t actually accomplish anything, and the time spent doing them crowds out the floor time available for things that may actually pass or must pass. So you can keep throwing out your Tea Party buzzwords like accountability and capitulation, and the rest of us will let the Senate do it’s job and give McConnell the space he needs to actually accomplish something.
The “throw the bums out” mentality is a vicious cycle that never ends. The current leadership got elected with that mentality. The next leadership will, too. It’s inevitable.
Fantastic excuses. Too bad people aren’t sucking them up. There is a reason why the squishy establishment GOP leadership is polling so bad. FYI, A 22% approval rating, doesn’t mean you are doing something right. For your enlightenment:
http://www.westernfreepress.com/2015/05/28/poll-gop-leadership-not-trusted-by-republicans/
They’re not excuses. They’re reality. And yes, it’s clear by those numbers (and I’m working on an article about the Pew study) that Republicans oversold what we could accomplish with control of the Senate.
What a 22% rating means is that people are expecting immediate results, and things don’t work that way.
Doing nothing or capitulating to the regime is what you call overselling? I suppose giving President Prissy-pants more of the powers constitutionally entrusted to Congress by passing the Trade Promotion Authority was a worthy endeavor for you? And some wonder why lobbyists get a bad rep?
I heard Speaker Boner received around $5 MILLION for his vote on TPA and Sen. McChicken received around $9 MILLION for his. At least we now know what it costs to get something done with the squishy establishment GOP leadership.
http://rickwells.us/boehner-got-5-million-ryan-2-million-mcconnell-9-million-any-doubt-why-tpa-passed/
No, what I call overselling is running on the idea that you could repeal Obamacare, stop illegal immigration, “stop Obama” or whatever else the bulk of our Senate candidates ran on during the last campaign if we took back the Senate.
We won every race we should have won plus a few but there was never going to be a legitimate shot at getting to 60 votes. Without that, getting anything accomplished in the Senate would require compromise. But we didn’t sell that to our voters, just that we could do the things they wanted us to do.
It was overselling. It’s been seven months and the things Republicans ran on haven’t materialized, so people are unhappy. And the demagogues in the party, like Ted Cruz, are content to blame the leadership as a way to increase their own personal power when they know that even with different leadership, the same problems would remain.
I opposed TPA and lobbied hard against it. Didn’t matter. And Boehner and McConnell didn’t get X million for votes on TPA. That was the total amounts they raised during the last reporting period. But if you honestly think that it took contributions to get Republicans on-board for a free trade deal – something that has been fundamental to the party for a while now – you’re not paying attention.
Let’s be honest – there wouldn’t have been any Republican opposition to a free trade deal if the President wasn’t a Democrat. There never is.
Yeah, NAFTA has done wonders for the American workers. Just like doing nothing has done for the approval ratings of our illustrious squishy establishment GOP leadership. Perhaps you should be selling your “compromise” mentality to the ones that know how to play the game. The Demwits have not compromised on anything since taking Congress away from the GOP back in 2009. They won’t even compromise when they are in the minority, as they are now. With record tax revenues seemingly being taken in every month for the past year or so and running deficits still being an issue, there are over $18 TRILLION reasons for the GOP not to compromise. I suppose surrendering control of the purse strings is another congressional power that should be given up to President Prissy-pants. Don’t tell me, having astronomical federal debt is good for America too, right?
I’m not arguing with you on the trade deals, but hey – free trade is something you will hear coming out of the mouths of a lot of Republicans. That they took a vote in line with what they’ve been supporting for a long time isn’t surprise.
The Democrats compromise all the time. They never get everything they want. We wouldn’t have gotten the Budget Control Act and sequestration if they didn’t compromise.
Us not compromising won’t reduce the deficit or the national debt. Especially when us not compromising means we lose revenue generators like the Ex-Im Bank, which Cruz and others want to kill. The Bank actually makes money and saves taxpayer dollars, but we decided to kill it? You can’t complain about the debt and then cheer when your heroes kill a program that helps reduce it.
And that’s how a lobbyist keeps his job, I suppose. Inducing our big government to pick the winners and losers among our companies that have been shortchanged by every government in the world, most importantly China. Always easy to push for something when the American taxpayer is the one footing the bill. I’m surprised Speaker Boner and Sen. McChicken didn’t get enough money to keep that fiasco running. It is bad enough that our big government is subsidizing more than 50% of the US population with some sort of Big Government program. Here you want it to go around subsidizing our industries along with the rest of the world too! You sure you aren’t a socialist?
We still have over $18 TRILLION reasons why your mindset is what is killing America. Granted, your open primary deal will probably get The Donald nominated here in Virginia. You never know, he might just be able to fix that China trade thingy. That open primary is starting to look like a good thing after all. Awesome job!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/merrillmatthews/2014/07/02/weve-crossed-the-tipping-point-most-americans-now-receive-government-benefits/
I have no idea how you keep your job, or if you even have one.
You have no idea what you’re talking about with Ex-Im, but that’s not surprising. And no, I’m not a socialist. I am, however, educated on these issues. You aren’t.
Keep telling yourself that. People like you are gonna put The Donald in the White House.
No, it will be people like you who do that.
Personally, I’m still backing Ted Cruz. However, if I keep coming into contact with squishy establishment types like you that have a load in their diaper due to The Donald, I may jump on his train. It is continuing to pick up speed no matter how much he bad mouths illegal aliens and worthless senators from Arizona.
FYI, Terry McAwful is planning on changing the voting policy to allow illegals to vote in the upcoming election. That should concern everyone including lobbyists.
https://www.richmondteaparty.com/action-alert-governor-mcauliffe-set-to-attack-your-voting-power/
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/26/new-california-mass-immigration-turning-virginia-blue/
I never could have guessed you were a Ted Cruz supporter.
Is being clueless one of your job qualifications? For your enlightenment:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/27/trump-surge-fueled-by-gop-dissatisfaction/
Is being an ass one of yours?
It’s clear why people are supporting Trump. It’s obvious that folks are angry. The problem is that the anger is irrational.
Hence the clueless label. You wear it well. Wouldn’t be the first time I was called an “ass” for trying to enlighten a terminally clueless person.
It’s okay. I’m used to people who don’t know what they’re talking about trying to tell me what’s what. I work in politics, after all.
Considering your positions would satisfy squishy establishment types or the socialist wing of the Demwits, you must be making a mint. Nothing like being an equal opportunity manipulator.
Being weak , being complicit is why Terry McAuliffe is in office today.
While { R } AG Ken was researching an investment in Star Scientific
his voters were cross referencing State violations with many other State Agencies .
State violations issued by one State agency may be checked at other State agencies to see if they are detecting these violators also , raise questions when they aren’t.
When Candidates are elected the duties of that elected official are now dictated by the party.
Example { R } Governor McDonnell sent a letter to DHS { politically crying } what do we do with the illegal aliens?
Well Bob The Dept. of Labor and Industry your appointed commissioner needs to get his head out of the party punch bowl and forward his violations issued to Unlicensed Contractors to the local Prosecutors.
We had what should have been a Republican dream in our previous Administration
turned out to be a nightmare.
http://watchdog.org/202012/subcontractors-shadow-economy/
Think your kids are safe at State Colleges?
Don’t believe JLARC Illegal Aliens do work on State Jobs , just as unlicensed contractors .
http://watchdogwire.com/blog/2013/06/26/illegalalien-convited-of-kidnapping-college-student-in-virginia/ { Attempted Abduction at VA. Tech June 2012 }
This scum was a unlicensed subcontractor also.
Got it on TPA. The corporations are more than willing to pay up for middle-class destructive legislation.
Obiviously, the Republican’s have waited 4 years to attack Hillary. Good luck. I will not vote for any Establishment Republican.
Look out now for the Dems to show the dirt that they have been holding on some ranking Republican. None of their “gaggle” of same message candidates has been vetted. Besides why throw the dirt out there now? Wait until more people are interested, closer to the election.
Neither party wants an election on illegal immigration and money in politics issues, they both want a side show.
The Dems also will focus on taking the Senate back.
In a presidential election cycle forcing many members of the Democratic congressional minority who effectively camouflage themselves in the wood line on the issues recently exposed regarding fetal tissue sale for profit by a federally funded Planned Parenthood organisation out into the open by requiring a supporting Obama’s override veto seems to me to be common partisan politics. You may not care for the tactic or find it a distraction from the Ex-Im Bank renewal legislation appended to the transportation bill, as Speaker McConnell filled up the amendment tree exactly as former Speaker Reid did so many times in the past ((Sen. Cruz was quite correct about that point), but that there is zero political capital to be gained and that it would be pointless seems more a perspective a Democratic would take rather then a practicing Republican. I think I’ll go with Tip O’Neill and Newt Gingrich on this common political tactic both of whom were masters at it with the gloves off.
Yes, it’s common partisan politics, but don’t kid yourself that it isn’t political theater. That’s all it is. If Cruz is decrying political theater, that’s great – welcome to the club. But he can’t very well complain that his theater is somehow better than McConnell’s. It’s all political theater, not designed to do much of anything besides generate a headline or provide a hook for a fundraising missive.
I don’t care if the Senate is late. I just want to see an up-or-down vote on Ex-Im. And there’s no “countless session multi-week breaks.” Their job isn’t just to be sitting in session in Washington. There’s one August recess and year.
It’s a little more then theater it’s traditionally been a practice to manufacture political opponent sound bite ammunition for those policy stealthy individuals using this technique and we all deserve our holidays but this year’s non-legislative scheduled (not in session) consists of Feb 16 – Feb 20, Mar 30 – Apr 10, May 25 – May 29, Jun 29 – Jul 6, Aug 10 – Sept 7, Sept 23, Oct 12 – Oct 16, Nov 11, Nov 23 – Nov 27, Dec 21 – Dec 31. Their job is to legislate hard to see how you do that while not in session and they certainly aren’t devoting much of it to walking main street listening to the constituents, must be those lengthy local chamber of commerce strategy meetings, they do have a tendency to drag on time wise.
Those are all holidays with built in travel time – not everybody lives in driving distance – with the exception of the August recess. And you show me an elected official who doesn’t spend half those holidays campaigning or meeting constituents. The job is more than legislating. They have to be home in their districts so they can listen and represent their constituents, otherwise they’ll get primaried like Eric Cantor.
You have no idea what an actual Congressional schedule looks like if you think they sit around complaining about the base and meeting with the local chamber.
lol, yes I’m just another clueless git.
I don’t think you’re clueless, I just don’t think you’re being fair.
And the answer to the veto question is 4.