Cruz Fights Alone to Stop Senate from Funding Planned Parenthood and Iran Nuclear Deal
By Jerry A. Kane
Last night Ted Cruz couldn’t get his Republican Senate colleagues to back his proposed amendment to stop funding Planned Parenthood for one year and to prevent the Obama administration from using funds to implement the Iran nuclear deal until Congress can examine the additional agreements or “side deals” between the terrorist state and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“You know, Obama has negotiated a catastrophic nuclear deal with Iran. Republican leadership goes on television all the time and rightly says this is a catastrophic deal. I would suggest that if we actually believed the words that are coming out of their mouths, then we should be willing to use any and all constitutional authorities,” Cruz said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tore a page from former Democrat Leader Harry Reid’s playbook and “filled the tree” with amendments and blocked Cruz from offering his amendment during a voice vote.
McConnell used the same tactic in July to block Cruz from offering an amendment on the Iran nuclear deal to the highway bill. Mike Lee (R-Utah) was the only senator to back Cruz on offering his amendment.
Cruz then asked for a roll call vote on overruling the decision, but his Republican colleagues sat on their hands, refusing to give him a “sufficient second” (11 senators) to allow the vote. For the record, roll call votes have been routinely granted as procedural courtesy to senators in both parties.
“What does denying a second mean? Denying a recorded vote. Why is that important? When you are breaking the commitment you’ve made to the men and women who elected you, the most painful thing in the world is accountability,” Cruz said.
Overruled by McConnell and his deputies, his colleagues too frightened to oppose a bloated spending bill to fund executive amnesty, Obamacare, Planned Parenthood, the Iran deal, and other Democrat-Party priorities, Cruz stood alone on the Senate floor. But he wasn’t done and remained undaunted in criticizing the leadership and his colleagues.
He took to the microphone and delivered a powerful, brilliant indictment against the corrupt Republican establishment and its symbiotic relationship with the Democrat party and K Street lobbyists.
During his hour-long speech, Cruz chided Republican leadership for repeatedly surrendering to Obama; he exposed the dysfunction of Washington; and he lamented the betrayal of the electorate.
It takes a man of principled conviction and extraordinary courage to stand before the Senate, where collegiality is touted as the supreme virtue, and indict party leadership and colleagues to their face for their hypocrisy, dishonesty, and cowardice.
Cruz is that lone voice crying out in the wilderness for repentance to a reprobate Congress damned by God awaiting its day of reckoning. Right now, he is America’s most fearless orator and greatest statesmen, and it’s painful to know that most Americans will never realize that.
“[T]his is no longer a nation of independent individuals. … The whole world is becoming humanoid – creatures that look human but aren’t. The whole world, not just us. We’re just the most advanced country, so we’re getting there first. The whole world’s people are becoming mass-produced, programmed, numbered, insensate things…”
TELL LEVIN AND HANNITY TO BACK ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT SENATE CANDIDATES
Posted in Latest Commentary, tagged 2014 midterm election, Bob Bennett, DREAM Act, GOP establishment, GOP primaries, Mark Levin, Mike Lee, open-borders, Orin Hatch, Reagan conservative, Republican Party, RINOs, Sean Hannity, Tea Party movement on March 31, 2014| 2 Comments »
Tell Levin and Hannity to Back anti-Establishment Senate Candidates
By Jerry A. Kane
If Mark Levin and Sean Hannity weren’t establishment tools, they’d be working tirelessly to promote the anti-establishment senate candidates in the upcoming GOP primaries, but they’re not.
Look, I’m not talking about a casual mention of a particular senate race here and there, or an occasional rant against one of the establishment’s candidates. I’m talking about interviewing these largely unknown candidates and dropping their names with increased frequency as each primary approaches. Name recognition is paramount for these unknown candidates to have a fighting chance against the better-known establishment incumbents and their well-financed campaigns.
If Levin and Hannity had an ounce of integrity and the courage of their professed convictions, they would be repentant for their wholehearted endorsement of Orin Hatch, a card-carrying member of the permanent political class and more RINO (Republican in name only) than Bob Bennett, who lost Utah’s 2010 primary to Mike Lee.
To jog your memory, Hatch was headed for defeat in 2012, but Mark Levin and Sean Hannity intervened to save his bacon. They endorsed Hatch, interviewed and promoted him on their shows as a stalwart conservative; then they relentlessly attacked Dan Liljenquist, Hatch’s challenger, who in truth was an actual conservative tough on fiscal issues, illegal immigration, and the GOP establishment.
Levin was the more ruthless of the two. He mercilessly attacked Liljenquist backer Freedom Works and its head Dick Armey for prompting a radical, open-borders, pro-amnesty position, and viciously smeared Liljenquist even though Hatch had been a supporter of amnesty and had sponsored the open-borders DREAM Act.
Levin endorsed Hatch without reservation knowing Hatch had been in DC since 1976; had promoted SCHIP (Obamacare for Children), TARP, the Law of the Sea Treaty, and Medicare Part D; and had voted to confirm leftists Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Ben Bernanke, Timothy Geithner, Eric Holder, and Cass Sunstein.
“I endorsed Orrin Hatch a year ago and will continue to do so,” proclaimed Levin on Facebook.
Hatch’s voting record called into question whether he would uphold the Constitution and defend liberty and freedom, but Levin was undeterred. He doubled down his support for the big-spending, Beltway-entrenched incumbents’ mascot who routinely crossed the aisle to promote and pass the Democrats’ destructive agenda.
Hatch reflected the antithesis of the spirit behind the Tea Party movement. Following his vote in support of Eric Holder as Attorney General, he said, “I like Barack Obama and I want to help him if I can.” Hatch was actually part of the overall problem. He epitomized everything Levin said he opposed on his radio talk show; yet, Levin gave Hatch his unwavering support.
Levin has a reputation for being a constitutional scholar and a solid Reagan conservative and his endorsement of the six-term senator with a big-government voting record and nearly four decades of costly progressive partnerships carried a lot of clout with the tea party faithful and the conservative grassroots. His endorsement helped Hatch gain credibility and trust among Utah Republicans in one of the nation’s reddest states.
Hatch, of course, went on to win the primary and was reelected. About eight months later during his radio talk show, Mark Levin read the names of the 14 GOP Senators who voted for amnesty; and of course, sticking out like a sore thumb was the name Orin Hatch. Levin made a half-hearted attempt at an apology for backing Hatch, saying, “I could never endorse him again.” The horse is gone, so what’s the point in locking the gate now, Mark?
Primaries are where the fight for the soul of the GOP take place. Primaries are where the GOP’s RINO establishment should be ousted. Primaries are where the grass roots lets the party know that they’re mad as hell and not gonna to take it anymore.
Unfortunately Mark Levin’s and Sean Hannity’s endorsements wield enormous credibility among the tea party faithful and conservative Republicans, but too often they put their shows’ ratings and personal interests ahead of their professed beliefs. The truth is what they say and do adheres more to management, advertising, and FCC guidelines than it does to principles of liberty and freedom. That’s the true nature of the beast, and it’s naive to think otherwise.
Looking to talk radio for heroes and champions is like looking for love in all the wrong places. People who do it are setting themselves up for a major letdown.
But don’t take my word for it; use the available social media and ask the dynamic duo if they’ll go all out to help these anti-establishment senate candidates get the name recognition and raise the money to rid the GOP of its RINOs.
Those with the convictions to take me up on my challenge should prepare for disappointment when the bloom falls off the rose.
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