Posted on 10/31/2013 6:02:10 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says if Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) won the Republican nomination for president, it would destroy the GOP.
In an interview on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” Wednesday night, Reid discussed fallout from the 16-day government shutdown, which ended two weeks ago. He said he’s sure the debacle will help Cruz raise more money.
“If I didn`t care so much about our country, I would hope he will get the Republican nomination for president, because that would be the end of the Republican Party,” Reid said.
“Ted Cruz, he`s someone else.”
Cruz, a freshman Tea Party member, is credited with leading lawmakers on the charge to defund ObamaCare, and inspiring House GOP members to only fund the government as long as they back Cruz’s campaign. Their standoff with Democrats resulted in the shutdown Oct. 1.
Lawmakers appointed to conference committees from both parties and both congressional chambers are now tasked with negotiating a longer-term deal on the budget and debt ceiling. Conferees have until Jan. 15 to compromise on funding the government, and Feb. 7 to do the same on the debt limit.
“The Republican Party is staggering right now,” Reid said when asked if lawmakers will wind up in the same gridlock next year. “I don`t know who they can expect to have a vote for them. I don`t see it.”
He added, “They`re not going to do it again is what I`m saying.”
Republicans emerged from the shutdown facing polls showing they suffered the most. A new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Wednesday evening said the GOP's favorability rating has dropped to 22 percent, an all-time record low.
These polls may weight heavily on Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), who's running in a tight race for reelection in 2014. Until now, he's vowed not to shut down the government again.
Cruz, on the other hand, has recently said he’s not ruling it out.
Cruz is a likely candidate for the Republican presidential race in 2016. He has already visited Iowa, the state that kicks off primary season, and will soon stop in South Carolina, another early voting state.
Democrats, always the party thinking, never the country. Freaking unpatriotic greedy fools, trying to tempt for a “bipartisan” party communist only.
THE PARTY! THE PARTY! nothing but the PARTY!
Who cares about qualifications or being a doctor, it is the PARTY, and that is Obama right there.
Destroy the country for sake of the party establishment.
The good old boys network of today's RP would be over. Similar to what Governor Palin did in Alaska.
>Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says if Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) won the Republican nomination for president, it would destroy the GOP. <
Well, in a perverse way he’s absolutely correct, because the GOP-e would have an absolute meltdown. They would throw up every barrier and every blockade they could muster to keep Ted Cruz out of the White House.
And I say this with utmost regret, but we all know the very high probability of this very thing occurring.
TEd Cruz scares the hell out of 'em.
Which means...either it won't destroy the GOP or...he's scared shiteless of a Cruz presidency.
Reagan 1980: gain of twelve (TWELVE!) senate seats.
McCain 2008: loss of ten senate seats
Romney 2012: loss of two senate seats
Yeah, Cruz will be the destruction of the republican party. Moderation is the way to go. Yeah right, Harry.
They can both go down in flames together.
Thanks for caring and sharing Harry now git.
Please, Lord, let Reid be right for once.
Let Cruz be nominated, win, and bury the old GOP elite version that Reid loves so much and is worried about dying.
Then maybe we will have a system with something other than an extreme left political party and an even more extreme left party.
Slightly off topic..but do we have ratings for Megyn Kelly v. Rachel Maddow?
I can't think of a better endorsement.
I thought Ted Cruz was going to be on Jay Leno’s show last night but he wasn’t. ???
The rats must really fear Cruz, since he is living rent free in Reid’s head.
Reid thinks he’s playing for the Harlem Globetrotters, which works fine only as long as the opponents agree to be the Wshington Generals.
Well....this is a huge endorsement for cruz!:)
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