In this case the false premise is that Cruz is delusional for advocating a course of action which cannot succeed. But there is no reason in principle why the House of Representatives cannot defund Obamacare, which it has done. The practical difficulty arises not from the constitutional power to fail to fund Obamacare, it comes from the probability that Republicans will defect to the Democrats' cause.
Again, as a matter of principle, there is no reason why the Republicans cannot hold fast in the face of a government shutdown by the Democrats except that the author "knows," and many others expect, that the Republicans will cave. Suppose Republicans do not cave? The government shuts down and the parties plead their case to the nation.
Does the author presume that the Republicans have a worse case to make? Does the author presume that the people will not give the Republicans a fair hearing for their better case? Does the author presume that the media will so distort the Republicans position that they will not get a fair hearing from the people? Does the author dispute the fact that it is the Democrats and not the Republicans who are actually shutting down the government?
Whatever the authors underlying suppositions, he presumes the Republicans will cave under pressure, presumably because they lose the public-relations battle and get blamed for shutting down the government which, in fact, the Democrats and not the Republicans will have shutdown. Why is this conventional wisdom? Does it make Ted Cruz delusional because he does not accept this conventional wisdom?
The author concedes that Obamacare is a "travesty" yet he blames Ted Cruz for the pusillanimous cave-in he anticipates from Republicans. Is that because Ted Cruz is somehow morally deficient for creating a situation in which the Republicans will be forced to reveal their cowardice? What impels the Republicans to be cowards? Fear of losing their seats.
The author stipulates that, "It is not that there is anything wrong with this message" in trying to defund this "travesty," so he criticizes Cruz not for the contents of this message, not for the honesty of the message itself, but because it causes "divisions" in the ranks of the Republican Party.
In other words Cruz is dividing Republicans who do the right thing from those who are cowards. Why does Cruz do this, the author does not reveal his psychiatric credentials but he assures us that it is because Cruz is ambitious. In other words it is wrong for Cruz to stand on principle to obtain higher office because in doing so he causes cowards perhaps to lose their offices who run from principle to protect their office.
And so, proceeding from a false premise, wallowing in hypocrisy, the author stands truth on its head.
