Pundits and journalists across the country have suggested that Ted Cruz and friends accomplished nothing with the government shutdown. I’d beg to differ. Indeed, I’d suggest just the opposite. The best parallel I can draw is with Ronald Reagan in 1976 when he angered the GOP establishment by challenging Gerald Ford for the party’s nomination before he went down to defeat at the hands of a peanut farmer from Georgia. Reagan however had made his mark. He was for smaller government and everyone knew it. As a consequence, four years later he won a resounding victory on the strength of the army of supporters he inspired in 1976.
In the same way, Ted Cruz hates Obamacare. He recognizes that Obamacare is an anvil around the neck of American freedom and prosperity. What is most important about his “filibuster” and the shutdown is that he has left no doubt in the minds of Americans exactly where he stands. Not only about where he stands, but also about his willingness to suffer the slings and arrows from both the opposition and those within his own party in order to make a clear statement. And that statement is that big government in general and Obamacare in particular are bad for America.
Many GOP establishment types pilloried Cruz for the shutdown, saying that had it not been for the shutdown he championed, the news from October 1st would have been the failure of Obamacare itself. They are simply wrong. Had the shutdown gone on longer two things would have occurred.
The first is the most telling: Given enough time it would have become clear to more and more Americans that the “shutdown” of the federal government would not bring about the end of the world, despite the warnings from the big government types in both parties. This was the real reason that the media and the Washington establishment focused on the shutdown. By the shutdown demonstrating the irrelevancy of Washington to the lives of so many Americans, they feared that the voting public might just decide that they didn’t really need to be taxed to the hilt and mortgaged beyond their lifetimes to pay for things that didn’t really matter. As such, the war on Ted Cruz and the Tea Party via the shutdown had to be job number one, which it was. The reality of this fact can be seen in the results of a Washington Post / ABC poll. Despite weeks of shrill coverage and apocalyptic predictions, once the shutdown was over a full 78% of Americans reported that they weren’t inconvenienced by the shutdown at all and another 11% felt only minor inconveniences. When 89% of the population barely notices that you’re not showing up for work it’s time to be concerned about your job. The establishment was… and it should be.
The second thing that would have occurred had the shutdown continued is the thing that is happening right now. Americans would have become well aware of the train wreck that is Obamacare because it’s so catastrophic a failure that it would have been impossible to miss. The failures of the website are legion, as are the basic elements of Obamacare itself. As more and more people were feeling the punch – i.e. losing their current health insurance, seeing premiums skyrocket and watching their choices disappear – the reality of the actual damage caused by Obamacare would have become more than the sycophant media cold hide. It’s one thing to read about our Spoiled Child in Chief keeping veterans from visiting monuments to their fallen brethren, but it’s another thing altogether to get a notice from your insurance company telling you you’ve lost your coverage or that your premiums have doubled and your deductible has tripled. Those are the kinds of things people notice regardless of what is going on in Washington.
Which brings us back to Ted Cruz and his alleged tilting at windmills. It turns out that the thing he was warning us about was even worse than even he knew. That said however, in reality Obamacare is just the most obvious example of the thing that Ted Cruz stands against, which is dysfunctional, failed and crippling big government. Listen to his sequester speech, or most speeches that he gives. The enemy is not government per se, but rather a government that undermines on the freedom and rights of American citizens. The enemy is a government that destroys jobs and impedes prosperity. The enemy is a government that listens to Washington lobbyists and bureaucrats while ignoring the voices of the people. The enemy is an unaccountable government that sees no limits to its power, its reach or its checkbook, whether there is money to cover the checks or not.
Ted Cruz may have lost in the Senate and on the shutdown, but those are merely the first battles in the war that will be waged for the heart and soul of America over the next four years. What kind of America will emerge from that war of ideas we will have to wait to see, but Ted Cruz has already signaled a clarity of vision, a willingness to lead, and a capacity to inspire that suggests conservatives may finally have a champion who is prepared to take a stand and give the country a real choice for the first time in a generation. That is a victory not only for conservatives, but for Americans in general because as Ronald Reagan demonstrated, one man with a clear vision and message of freedom can move save a nation on the brink of failure and put it back on the path to prosperity.
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Finally someone to stand up and put a voice to reality. This emperor has no clothes. What disturbed the establishment so much about Senator Cruz is that he doesn’t seek or need anyone’s approval. He has deep seated convictions and the courage to follow through on them and that removes the power of the establishment to control events. People like Senator Cruz and Governor Palin don’t seek approval and fawning. They answer to their convictions and let the cards fall where they may. That’s why the Establishment has to put a stop to them. Ted Cruz is going to look like a prophet. Who knows…maybe he is.
VINCE
as your previous POST, it”s excellent,
Ted Cruz is for AMERICA,
he flame that The PEOPLE where desperately hoping to see coming,
THANK YOU,
How refreshing to have somone in congress tell the truth rather than walk the party line!! Sadly most Republicans and Democrats have no clue how this is done!!
Sen. Cruz might have ”lost” in the Senate on one day, but now there are Democrats and even Obama, himself, following his idea of delaying the rollout of ObamaCare’s deadlines!
So, what’s the opposite of a Pyrrhic Victory?
It’s a Cruz ”loss.”
I’m watching the House hearings today as Democrats are BEGGING Republicans to join them in fixing (or at least, as Jon Stewart put it) spinning this turd.
And turd it is, as evidenced by the way the liberals are trying to cover this mess up, much like a cat trying to cover up its turds on a vinyl floor, with the same result.
Obama lies- that is a TRUTH.
Liberals suck- that is a truth also.
Obamacare is an enslavement of the American people- yet another truth.
Well said. I would only add that the entire establishment argument is even worse. It boils down to, ‘how dare Ted Cruz distract attention from Obamacare by talking about Obamacare’ or even pointing to the failure of Ted Cruz’s strategy which technically NONE of them implemented. Only in Washington, or even sadly, National Review can these arguments make the slightest bit of sense.
they should have listen to TED CRUZ,
it would have save their embarassment,
now they deserve all the punchs
Much like Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz serves as a litmus test for stupidity.
That’s right! Because Ted Cruz is just stupid right? LMAO….
Cruz attended high school at Faith West Academy in Katy, Texas,[26] and later graduated from Second Baptist High School in Houston as valedictorian in 1988.[11] During high school, Cruz participated in a Houston-based group called the Free Market Education Foundation where Cruz learned about free-market economic philosophers such as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Frédéric Bastiat and Ludwig von Mises.[20] The program was run by Rolland Storey and Cruz entered the program at the age of 13.[18]
Cruz graduated cum laude from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1992.[1][4] While at Princeton, he competed for the American Whig-Cliosophic Society’s Debate Panel and won the top speaker award at both the 1992 U.S. National Debating Championship and the 1992 North American Debating Championship.[27] In 1992, he was named U.S. National Speaker of the Year and Team of the Year (with his debate partner, David Panton).[27] Cruz was also a semi-finalist at the 1995 World Universities Debating Championship.[28]
Cruz’s senior thesis on the separation of powers, titled “Clipping the Wings of Angels,” draws its inspiration from a passage attributed to President James Madison: “If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” Cruz argued that the drafters of the Constitution intended to protect the rights of their constituents, and the last two items in the Bill of Rights offered an explicit stop against an all-powerful state. Cruz wrote: “They simply do so from different directions. The Tenth stops new powers, and the Ninth fortifies all other rights, or non-powers.”[24][29]
After graduating from Princeton, Cruz attended Harvard Law School, graduating magna cum laude in 1995 with a Juris Doctor.[1][30] While at Harvard Law, Cruz was a primary editor of the Harvard Law Review, and executive editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and a founding editor of the Harvard Latino Law Review.[4] Referring to Cruz’s time as a student at Harvard Law, Professor Alan Dershowitz said, “Cruz was off-the-charts brilliant.”[12][31][32][33][34][35] At Harvard Law, Cruz was a John M. Olin Fellow in Law and Economics.[36]
Cruz currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Texas Review of Law and Politics.[36][37]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Cruz
@John:
Oh, but wait; are we not constantly reminded of Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.’s brilliance due to his being the editor of the Harvard Law Review?
Are we now to assume that position really was not that important when it was a “white” Hispanic that held it? You know, the guy Bill Richardson said was not really “Hispanic” due to Cruz’s politics?
@retire05:
No doubt. We are always told of Obama’s brilliance, and even Hillary for that matter. Neither of them have proved it, but with liberals you don’t need evidence. The same phrases get regurgitated enough, by enough people, and Voila! It’s liberal common knowledge….
@Greg: Gotta disagree. When comparing the intelligence of Cruz and Palin I wouldn’t put them in the same boat. Hell, I wouldn’t put them in the same ocean.
Sarah was a doe in the headlights. Totally unprepared and unqualified for the spotlight shone on her. Mac didn’t have a clue who he was picking. Some advisor suggested Sarah could bring on disgruntled Hillary Dems. Absurd miscalculation.
Cruz is smart and shrewd. He’s ready to play. Used Obamacare to get out front of fellow Conservs. Rubio and Paul. in race for 2016 nom.
Banked a lot of money and headed for Iowa. Dems should not underestimate this guy. He’ll play the populist,outsider role.
Note Another Harvard “elitist”.They know how to graduate future Presidents.
@Richard Wheeler:
The gall of Ted Cruz. To try to advance his conservative agenda by using the same tactics Obama used to advance his progressive/liberal agenda is unspeakable. Doesn’t Cruz know that such tactics are limited to progressive/liberals alone?
@retire05: He’s doing it just right. Kudos to him.
@John, #9:
I wasn’t suggesting that Cruz is being tested. I was suggesting that he is the test.
@Richard Wheeler, #12:
Cruz actually has much in common with Obama: A political radical for a parent; a fundamentalist religious school before college; methodical indoctrination with principals of particular economic philosophy from an early age; a cum laude graduate from an Ivy League university; a law degree from Harvard. Heck, he was even born outside of the United States. They could almost be twins. *S*
@Greg:
Oh, I understand what you said, but whereas you can TRY to make the case that Palin AND her supporters are stupid…you can’t do the same with Cruz. There is nothing stupid about Cruz, nor his followers who have taken a principled, fiscally responsible position. A position that neither of the actual parties care to adopt. He IS the adult in the conversation, he IS the mature position.
Now, go back to your brilliant analysis of who is and who is not stupid. LOL
GREG
TED CRUZ is not like Obama BY FAR,
he is for the PEOPLE by the PEOPLE,
his father is on the same mindset,
and you are just seeing the begining of this man, he is even more brilliant than i thought,
after reading JOHN, all the better prepare, HE CAME RIGHT ON Q, AND OBAMA MUST BE KICKING HIS OWN BUTT FOR NOT TAKING HIS DEMAND SERIOUSLY,
HE WOULD HAVE AVOID LOOKING STUPID,
HE TED CRUZ, WILL RISE AND GOD IS WATCHING OVER HIM,
FOR HIM TO ALWAYS SEEK WISDOM,
@John, #17:
From Business Insider, October 23, 2013: We Just Got The First Good Look At How The Shutdown Hit The Economy, And It Was Ugly
That’s what Ted Cruz helped to accomplished for the nation. In addition, the GOP itself was seriously damaged.
So, what else did he accomplish, besides furthering the political aspirations of Ted Cruz?
Here’s another recent article dated October 25, from the Seattle Times: US consumer confidence drops on concern about economic impact of gov’t shutdown, budget battle.
Maybe republicans actually perceive this as an accomplishment. They’ve been talking down the economy and consumer confidence for 5 straight years. Maybe they can blame it in Obama, or on the Affordable Care Act.
@Greg:
Bologna. The history of government shutdowns proves him absolutely wrong. Not only will there be no discernible difference in the current crappy GDP trend, there will be little mention of it when everyone goes to vote, contrary to conventional wisdom.
As an aside, have you followed GDP predictions? I can’t recall any during this president that weren’t wrong and overestimated.
Finally, it takes 2 to tango. IF the government shutdown was such a serious thing and of such great concern to our dear president, why no negotiation? Why push the issue at all? Republicans were willing to cave merely for a delay in the individual mandate or even cheesier, the medical device tax compromise. These ideas are something that could and should be agreed on, but no the president was willing to cause an economic downturn (according to you) over what…..pride?
@Greg: Well said. Lets see if the racists er birthers come after Cruz.
GREG
WOW ,
it show how far you and your zombies will go to attack him,
he said he didn”t want a shut down when OBAMA decided to shut down the government
he got ready way before TED CRUX spoke,
and what you say is ridiculous, it doesn’t fit in,
aren”t you starting the attacks too early? or you got the order from your master
to start the demolition,
BUT WE HAVE THE DYNAMITE,
@John:
Because it would only encourage them to take hostages again.
Opponents of Affordable Health Care lost the vote in Congress. They lost a second presidential election when they made it a central issue. They failed when they attempted to wreck it in the Supreme Court. The bill has already become law and withstood Supreme Court challenge. Why do they imagine they have any legal basis for further negotiation?
If they want to repeal the law, there’s a constitutional process. What they have attempted isn’t it.
@Greg:
Two young men, both subscribing to the tenets of Marxism/Communism, both came to the United States for an education, both returning to their native land, one to subscribe to Marxism/Communism until the day he died in a violent car wreck drunk, the other who saw Marxism/Communism for the evil it is and turned away from it.
Two young men attending a religious school; one who attended a Christian school where they were taught love and charity, hate the sin not the sinner, forgiveness and compassion for others who are different; the other who was instructed in a faith where anyone who does not subscribe to that particular faith is an infidel, not graced by God, and the only option for those who do not accept that faith is to convert, be submissive to those who are believers of that particular faith or be slaughtered.
One who subscribed to the teachings of Von Mises, Hayak, Bastiat and Friedman; the other who accepted a bastardized version of Keynes.
One accepted on merit; the other who acknowledged that he was accepted due to the color of his skin.
Wow! Greggie is now saying Obama was born outside the United States.
Well, there you have it, boys and girls. A peek into the mind of a progressive (Greggie) where all things different are now the same.
Greg
THE REPUBLICANS HAVE THE HOUSE,
they sure have the alternate power and of the purse,
both are on an equal foot to demand, rights,
they represent the People better than OBAMA big spender of the PEOPLE’S MONEY,
and he doesn’t take the hints he receive from the CONGRESS,
HE DOES HIS WAY OR THE HYWAY, AND HE DID SHUT DOWN
ALL BY HIMSELF
@Greg:
And once again, you get the history completely wrong. There is no other president in your lifetime that refused to negotiate during a government shutdown. AND all of them negotiated on various issues that were law.
So, all of your ramblings about elections and Supreme Court decisions completely ignores the way things have been going on for some time, and all in completely constitutional ways.
The House controls the purse. There is a reason democrats lost the power of the purse in historic fashion, and it was certainly Obamacare which they ran on and you accurately point out.
You just need to crack a history book. It would do you well.
It’s been a while since I was here. I see you guys still insist on feeding rather than simply ignoring the trolls. It will kill this blog eventually.
JustAl
hi
what kept you away so long,
we are improving
BYE
@Greg: biden and ried and shirley jackson lee are mensa members right ………i am waiting to see the mars landing pictures ……oops and rocket scientist pelosi
@Greg: Yep it proves the liberal wacho Democrats to be liars, racist, mindless, idiots! Greg, you appear to know about Cruz than Obama!! Might want to focus on your messiah and the lies he has told America about Obamacare!! Your might learn something!!