Posted on 10/12/2013 5:08:48 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Tensions between Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other potential 2016 presidential contenders over the government shutdown were visible just beneath the surface at Friday's Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C.
Cruz fired up the conservative crowd with a demand that they double down in their fight against ObamaCare, ripping establishment Republicans as well as Democrats for opposing him in his quest.
But even in the aftermath of Cruz's fiery speech, others shied away from any discussion of the high-profile confrontation.
The shutdown went unmentioned by Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), both early champions of the defunding battle.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who is working toward a compromise with the White House on the shutdown and debt ceiling that does not erode ObamaCare, made a short argument for his alternate plan in Friday afternoon video message to the group.
The GOP leaders' avoidance of the high-profile battle at the conference was an important illustration of the delicate position in which they find themselves.
The conservative base loves Cruz for his defunding push and "with us or against us" mentality, but polls show the effort is hurting the Republican brand.
Paul's and Rubio's dodges, and Ryan's implicit rebuke, demonstrate that they are seeking to avoid being tainted by the fight's fallout while avoiding any confrontation with the party’s base.
Cruz used his speech to frame the debate over ObamaCare and the government shutdown in stark terms, painting it as a key battle in the larger war for individual freedom.
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
Assuming Cruz sticks to the hardline, it would be a good test candidate to see if there is sufficient support for a real conservative in the GOP.
What a bunch of gutless cowards. No wonder Sen. Cruz stands out as a leader. They have only themselves to blame for his success.
The Republican Party will not win elections without the conservative base, so who is really responsible for its demise?
And that is their great dilemma. They want us to go away (a few are rooting for Obama to make us look clueless and toothless) but we now are considered more powerful than their business (monied/lobbyists) constituency, and they are well aware that we will remove them ASAP unless they move to the right.
At this point, Cruz is the ONLY candidate I will consider in 2016. I don’t care what party he runs for. The GOP is dead to me. Hopefully he runs as the standard bearer of a new party.
Cowards all—with ABSOLUTELY NO CONCEPT of politics anymore.
Agree to a point...the consultant/staffer class hates Cruz.
This is the group that remains “unnamed sources” and do great harm to every conservative.
I dont think Paul or Rubio are going after Cruz...they wanted a more “positive” message.
Both Paul and Rubio are for the so called amnesty bill too.
Rubio lost many political friends over his stance for amnesty. Time will tell if this is a permanent loss for him.
Paul, while good on some issues, has a problem of floating off on other issues. He will never be president but could do great harm if Cruz is the nominee..by going 3rd party. Time will tell.
Currently most conservatives are concentrating on 0bamacar and rightly so.
The RINOS are just waiting for the right moment to stab him and go back to doing what they were doing before. Cruz had them cornered along with the democrats but its just a matter of time until they find a weak spot and finish him off. They will then go on all the talk shows and vilify him. I will never vote for a RINO again, ever. We need to take the party back one conservative at a time.
100% agree!
Getting word that House GOP not backing down
Jonathan Strong @j_strong 13m
GOP Members woke up to find an email from Heritage calling the latest plan "surrender plus higher spending"
The others are not real men. Make no mistake about it, they are girly men. Leaders are made, not born, and Cruz is a leader.
This! is an awesome speech and I encourage all to watch/listen!
Elect no mealy mouthed traitors, only straight talkers like Palin and Cruz
WOW he really is impressive
Maybe the McCain generation of republicans are just jealous of Cruz being he is stealing thier show?
That role is to FUND OBAMACARE, RAISE THE DEBT CEILING, REOPEN GOVERNMENT AND REVERSE SEQUESTER CUTS... Thanks for nothing!
Then they must be eliminated as possible candidates for ANY office even dog catcher!
BINGO, rubio RINO, ryan RINO, christie RINO all sold to us as conservatives. Wolves in sheep’s clothing.
It's times like these that one see's what true courage looks like!!!
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