Bryan Fischer
The silver lining: conservative movement now has a leader in Ted Cruz
By Bryan Fischer
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
There was a movie from the 1980s called "Eddie and the Cruisers," about the mysterious disappearance of an up-and-coming rock band.
Well, the future of the conservative movement is now in the hands of a new band, "Teddie and the Cruzers." And they are going to rock the house. And the House. And the Senate. And the White House.
This is the one silver lining in the dark and gloomy budget-debt ceiling showdown cloud. A clear and universally recognized leader of the conservative movement has emerged, and his name is Ted Cruz.
Cruz singlehandedly energized the conservative grassroots with his filibuster on behalf of defunding the monstrosity of ObamaCare. It was a principled and courageous stand, one he took in defiance of the entire meanstream media, 100% of the Democrat Party, and 100% of the ruling class Republicans in his own party.
If a man is known by the enemies he makes – and I believe he is – Ted Cruz is ticking off all the right people.
Ted Cruz represents the values of citizen-class Republicans, and he does so fearlessly and eloquently.
There is no way to sugarcoat the disastrous performance of the GOP yesterday on the debt ceiling showdown. We haven't seen a massive, stampeding retreat like this since Dunkirk. We haven't seen such abject surrender since France dropped its weapons and raised its hands in 1940.
What's even worse, the deal gives President Obama virtually unilateral authority to raise the debt ceiling the next time around unless 2/3 of Congress disagrees. The power of the purse has been snatched from the House and from the Constitution by Boehner and McConnell and given to President Obama, who will delightedly use his newfound authority to drive America into oblivion.
Mitch McConnell sold out for a $3 billion dam project in Kentucky, so at least we know his price. John Boehner, for the 4th time this year, betrayed his own caucus, his own party, and conservative values by bringing atrocious legislation to the floor of the House. All these pieces of legislation passed with Democratic support and despite overwhelming opposition from his fellow Republicans.
In last night's debt ceiling vote, 62% of Republican members of the House voted against this bill which their own leader brought to the floor over their objections. All of which raises the question: why is this man still Speaker of the House?
According to Mother Jones, his price may have been an offer from the opposition, the Democrats, to help him hang on to political power. The report is that Democrats promised Boehner that if his position as Speaker is challenged by the members of his own party, the Democrats will either stay home or vote present so that as long as Boehner has at least half the votes of his caucus, he can hang on to the podium. So for the price of a dam and a gavel, fiscal sanity and conservative principle have been betrayed again.
There was a time when the leader of a political party would lose his position after just one act of betrayal of party principle. Now the number evidently is up to four and counting.
But there is another piece of good news here: 144 Republicans in the House last night voted against throwing more bricks into the backpacks of our grandchildren, as did 18 Senators. That means 162 congressmen did not bow the knee to Baal. There is something to work with here.
The bottom line: the conservative army now has a general, 160 lieutenants in Congress, and an infantry of millions of patriotic citizens all across the fruited plain.
The next fight will be over amnesty. We won this battle in 2007 and we can win it again. Time to armor up!
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
October 17, 2013
Follow me on Twitter: @BryanJFischer, on Facebook at "Focal Point"
There was a movie from the 1980s called "Eddie and the Cruisers," about the mysterious disappearance of an up-and-coming rock band.
Well, the future of the conservative movement is now in the hands of a new band, "Teddie and the Cruzers." And they are going to rock the house. And the House. And the Senate. And the White House.
This is the one silver lining in the dark and gloomy budget-debt ceiling showdown cloud. A clear and universally recognized leader of the conservative movement has emerged, and his name is Ted Cruz.
Cruz singlehandedly energized the conservative grassroots with his filibuster on behalf of defunding the monstrosity of ObamaCare. It was a principled and courageous stand, one he took in defiance of the entire meanstream media, 100% of the Democrat Party, and 100% of the ruling class Republicans in his own party.
If a man is known by the enemies he makes – and I believe he is – Ted Cruz is ticking off all the right people.
Ted Cruz represents the values of citizen-class Republicans, and he does so fearlessly and eloquently.
There is no way to sugarcoat the disastrous performance of the GOP yesterday on the debt ceiling showdown. We haven't seen a massive, stampeding retreat like this since Dunkirk. We haven't seen such abject surrender since France dropped its weapons and raised its hands in 1940.
What's even worse, the deal gives President Obama virtually unilateral authority to raise the debt ceiling the next time around unless 2/3 of Congress disagrees. The power of the purse has been snatched from the House and from the Constitution by Boehner and McConnell and given to President Obama, who will delightedly use his newfound authority to drive America into oblivion.
Mitch McConnell sold out for a $3 billion dam project in Kentucky, so at least we know his price. John Boehner, for the 4th time this year, betrayed his own caucus, his own party, and conservative values by bringing atrocious legislation to the floor of the House. All these pieces of legislation passed with Democratic support and despite overwhelming opposition from his fellow Republicans.
In last night's debt ceiling vote, 62% of Republican members of the House voted against this bill which their own leader brought to the floor over their objections. All of which raises the question: why is this man still Speaker of the House?
According to Mother Jones, his price may have been an offer from the opposition, the Democrats, to help him hang on to political power. The report is that Democrats promised Boehner that if his position as Speaker is challenged by the members of his own party, the Democrats will either stay home or vote present so that as long as Boehner has at least half the votes of his caucus, he can hang on to the podium. So for the price of a dam and a gavel, fiscal sanity and conservative principle have been betrayed again.
There was a time when the leader of a political party would lose his position after just one act of betrayal of party principle. Now the number evidently is up to four and counting.
But there is another piece of good news here: 144 Republicans in the House last night voted against throwing more bricks into the backpacks of our grandchildren, as did 18 Senators. That means 162 congressmen did not bow the knee to Baal. There is something to work with here.
The bottom line: the conservative army now has a general, 160 lieutenants in Congress, and an infantry of millions of patriotic citizens all across the fruited plain.
The next fight will be over amnesty. We won this battle in 2007 and we can win it again. Time to armor up!
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
