Where's Ted Cruz?

Okay. So we have a government shutdown. After being front and center and grabbing the camera for weeks, where is Ted Cruz? He's toned it down considerably ... <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ted-cruz-blasted-by-angry-gop-colleagues-government-shutdown-97753.html#.UkzOwlCwvJI.twitter">perhaps this is why</a>.<br /><br />End the government shutdown.

government shutdown Ted Cruz Washington politics Where's Ted Cruz?

Okay. So we have a government shutdown. After being front and center and grabbing the camera for weeks, where is Ted Cruz? He's toned it...

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Strong opposition to government shutdown includes Republicans

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0lEC83V2A79xkVQM6KPeTuMoH7yptqV9ycaeBIMLdZIGcL5GQYbcRzYT6FmphqKEq6465-tdHBWE1jy0e5h-irq6-BYaT1lKUpOFabX6SVFRXD67qceeJevIaoe7Qw6EtNDH8quWmFWp/s1600/Elephants,+fighting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0lEC83V2A79xkVQM6KPeTuMoH7yptqV9ycaeBIMLdZIGcL5GQYbcRzYT6FmphqKEq6465-tdHBWE1jy0e5h-irq6-BYaT1lKUpOFabX6SVFRXD67qceeJevIaoe7Qw6EtNDH8quWmFWp/s400/Elephants,+fighting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />The first paragraph of Byron York's article in the <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/gop-poll-finds-strong-opposition-to-government-shutdown/article/2534580"><i>Washington Examiner</i></a> says it all:<br /><blockquote>"A new poll done for Republican members of Congress has found huge public opposition, and solid opposition among Republicans, to the idea of shutting down the government over the issue of funding Obamacare."</blockquote>An overwhelming 71 percent of Americans do not want a repeat of 1995 when Republicans shut down the government for three weeks. Even 61 percent of <i>Republican women</i> don't want to see Republicans go through with such a plan.<br /><br />For those who were not paying attention in 1995 when the GOP <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/voters-blamed-gop-for-1995-shutdown_n_842769.html">shut down the government</a>, it wasn't pretty. Google it. Or listen to the voices of experiences who have been there and done that, like Senator Saxby Chambliss, 69, and Joe Scarborough who was a congressman at the time.<br /><br />Now a poll, commissioned by Republicans, is confirming that a shutdown will not bode well for the GOP. Will those "show horses" of the U.S. Senate, as the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/opinion/collins-politics-of-a-screeching-halt.html?_r=1&"><i>New York Times</i></a> called Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Marco Rubio of Florida, continue to push for it?<br /><br />Byron York, like others, can look at this poll and read the tea leaves:<br /><blockquote>"But there is no doubt defunding advocates anticipate a possible shutdown; their hope is to persuade the public to blame President Obama, and not Republicans, for it. The new numbers suggest they will have a lot of persuading to do."</blockquote>It brings to mind once again American philosopher George Santayana's much-quoted belief, "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it." Hopefully, GOP leadership and experienced voices will be able to stop the proposed fallacy.

Barack Obama Byron York George Santayana Marco Rubio New York Times Rand Paul Republicans Ted Cruz U.S. Congress Washington Examiner Strong opposition to government shutdown includes Republicans

The first paragraph of Byron York's article in the Washington Examiner says it all: "A new poll done for Republican members of Con...

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Goodlatte townhall: The question that didn't get asked

Monday's <a href="http://www.dailyprogress.com/newsvirginian/news/local/immigration-a-hot-topic-at-goodlatte-meeting/article_75b12d9a-0932-11e3-8ac2-0019bb30f31a.html">townhall meeting in Augusta County</a> with Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-6th CD) was chocked full of people who are upset about Obamacare and want to see Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and others shut down the U.S. government in their pursuit of shutting down Obamacare.<br /><br />So it was a surprise that this one question was not asked by anyone in the crowd of about 150 people: Why was Congress exempted from the Obamacare legislation that the rest of us have to abide by?

Bob Goodlatte obamacare Rand Paul Ted Cruz townhall meeting U.S. government Goodlatte townhall: The question that didn't get asked

Monday's townhall meeting in Augusta County with Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-6th CD) was chocked full of people who are upset about Ob...

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NY Times on GOP shutdown threat: 'Politics of a Screeching Halt'

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0lEC83V2A79xkVQM6KPeTuMoH7yptqV9ycaeBIMLdZIGcL5GQYbcRzYT6FmphqKEq6465-tdHBWE1jy0e5h-irq6-BYaT1lKUpOFabX6SVFRXD67qceeJevIaoe7Qw6EtNDH8quWmFWp/s1600/Elephants,+fighting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji0lEC83V2A79xkVQM6KPeTuMoH7yptqV9ycaeBIMLdZIGcL5GQYbcRzYT6FmphqKEq6465-tdHBWE1jy0e5h-irq6-BYaT1lKUpOFabX6SVFRXD67qceeJevIaoe7Qw6EtNDH8quWmFWp/s400/Elephants,+fighting.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/01/opinion/collins-politics-of-a-screeching-halt.html?_r=0">New York Times Op-Ed columnist</a> Gail Collins does not mince words: <br /><blockquote>Right now, the show horses of the United States Senate are Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida. All preparing for a 2016 presidential bid. All making visits to Iowa. They’re the new faces of the Republican Party. Really, really new. The three of them have an average age of 45 and an average tenure in Washington of 1.9 years.</blockquote>Whatever happened to learning one job before moving to the next step?<br /><br />Republicans are alarmed, as the editorial notes:<br /><blockquote>And all three are currently in the news for their efforts to get Republicans to promise not to vote to fund the government this fall unless the president cancels Obamacare.<br /><br />"I think it’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard," said Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina, speaking on behalf of a large number of Republicans who regard the idea of shutting down the government with horror and who are never going to be mentioned in a Quinnipiac presidential poll. </blockquote>For those who were not paying attention in 1995 when Republicans <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/voters-blamed-gop-for-1995-shutdown_n_842769.html">shut down the government</a>, it wasn't pretty. Google it. Or listen to the voices of experiences who have been there and done that, like Senator Saxby Chambliss, 69. On Wednesday's <a href="http://video.msnbc.msn.com/morning-joe/52629486/"><i>Morning Joe</i> on MSNBC</a>, Chambliss gave a dire reminder.<br /><br />“We’ve been down that road,” he said. “We shut down the government ...and we got our butts kicked over shutting down the government.” <br /><br />That's an understatement. It took years to regain the confidence of the American people who blamed Republicans for the shutdown. Indeed, <a href="http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/31/saxby-chambliss-good-hustle-tea-party-but-government-shutdowns-dont-work/"><i>Morning Joe</i></a> host Joe Scarborough was a Florida Congressman during the 1995 shutdown. He learned from that experience and called the current  threat "one of the stupidest arguments he's heard in two decades":<br /><blockquote>“We’ve got a president that’s gonna celebrate Republicans making the same mistake back when we shut down the government and basically re-elected Bill Clinton,” Scarborough said.</blockquote>The new breed of Republicans could learn from the experience and wisdom of those who have walked before them. But listening to Cruz, that doesn't seem likely:<br /><blockquote>“The sort of cocktail chatter wisdom that ‘Oh, the shutdown was a disaster for Republicans’ is not borne out by the data,” Cruz said.</blockquote>Meanwhile, the other side of the political aisle is watching this unfold, as Collins writes: <br /><blockquote>The Democrats are sort of horrified and sort of enthralled by the whole drama.<br /><br />“Give a call to Newt Gingrich. He’ll return your phone calls. Ask him how it worked,” suggested Majority Leader Harry Reid. </blockquote>It brings to mind American philosopher George Santayana's much-quoted belief,<i></i> "Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it."

Bill Clinton Gail Collins George Santayana Harry Reid Joe Scarborough Marco Rubio Morning Joe New York Times Rand Paul Richard Burr Saxby Chambliss Ted Cruz U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate NY Times on GOP shutdown threat: 'Politics of a Screeching Halt'

New York Times Op-Ed columnist Gail Collins does not mince words: Right now, the show horses of the United States Senate are Rand Paul of ...

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Ted Cruz is a 'train wreck'

<div style="text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0" height="245" id="msnbc724728" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" /><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=52629446&width=420&height=245" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc724728" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=52629446&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></div><div style="background: transparent; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-top: 5px; text-align: center; width: 420px;"><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032072" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; color: #5799DB !important; font-weight: normal !important; height: 13px; text-decoration: none !important;"><br /></a></div><i>“Have you seen what Ted Cruz is doing? He’s going crazy on Republicans … Ted Cruz is attacking anybody that is not willing to shut down the government over Obamacare … I have to be very careful about what I say, but Ted Cruz comes in, obviously so completely ignorant about the war that Tom Coburn has been fighting for 20 years. And to say something like this about Tom Coburn. Ted Cruz is a total train wreck. He is comparing Mitch McConnell to Barack Obama. He is attacking Tom Coburn as being a member of the ‘surrender caucus’ when Tom Coburn, and yes Ted Cruz…I…put our political lives on the line more times in six months than Ted Cruz will put on the line his entire lifetime.”</i><br /><div style="text-align: center;">- former GOP Congressman Joe Scarborough (<a href="http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/07/31/watch-why-ted-cruz-is-turning-into-a-total-train-wreck/">"Morning Joe,"</a> July 31, 2013)</div>

in-fighting Joe Scarborough Mitch McConnell obamacare Republicans Ted Cruz Tom Coburn Ted Cruz is a 'train wreck'

“Have you seen what Ted Cruz is doing? He’s going crazy on Republicans … Ted Cruz is attacking anybody that is not willing to shut down the ...

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