Cruzin' For A Bruisin'

I'm beginning to wonder just what the Tea Party stalwarts represent.  Pig headedness for sure.

Take their in house figurehead Ted Cruz and his attempt to filibuster the procedure to move ahead a vote on raising the debt ceiling. The last thing anyone needed was another fight to the wire on shutting down the government or in this case defaulting on the debt. It isn't even really the debt but rather the interest on it.

Because of his ill advised stunt he forced a handful of wiser Republicans to vote with the Democrats to move the measure forward.  The clean bill went on to pass without the vote of a single one of those Republicans.  Now Cruz and his ilk are threatening to use those votes against the incumbent Republicans in the primaries.  Do it my way or I'll punish you by golly!

To what end does he do this? So they can possibly lose to more like Cruz who doesn't seem to understand that in order to win you have to have the votes.  Maybe they should start by not passing the spending bills that require a rise in the debt limit in the first place.  As it is it indicates that the Republicans are as guilty as the Democrats when it comes to excessive spending.

I understand standing on principle. There is a time and place for it but not in a working house of Congress where governance is a shared proposition and in order to share one must be willing to compromise.  It is not a dirty word. Granted the Democrats, having the power for the moment, have no interest in sharing.  But they stand together as a party.

The Republicans don't.  Those who stand on principle alone are negating what power they do have as a whole. Some of these legislators have Presidential ambitions, Mr. Cruz included. What I see in him is blind ambition and ideology over reason.  I've blamed the Democrats for the same and this is one area I'd rather the two parties didn't share!

If his unwillingness to listen to what Republican leadership has to say and close ranks with them for the good of the party and more importantly, the nation, it indicates to me what type of President he is likely to be. Inflexible.  My way or the highway. Does any of this sound familiar?

The behind the scenes maneuvering is no easy task to be sure, in either the House or Senate, but unless you hold total power like Harry Reid does,  joining with leadership is pragmatic if nothing else.

I'm looking way past charisma on potential candidates.  I'm looking for those who understand what is necessary to move forward rather than perpetuate a stalemate.  Mr. Cruz fails on both counts.