Ted Cruz Won't Commit To Supporting McConnell For GOP Leader

[DonViejo]

SAHIL KAPUR – FEBRUARY 21, 2014, 1:22 PM EST

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) declined to tell an inquiring reporter if he'd vote for Mitch McConnell to remain Senate Republican leader next year.

"I'm going to leave that election and every other incumbent Republican election to the voters of their respective states," he told Betsy Woodruff of the National Review in Beaumont, Texas, according to an article published Thursday.

Cruz, a leader of the GOP's tea party wing, and McConnell have been locked in a feud over tactics ahead of the 2014 elections, when the Kentucky senator is defending his seat and eying the majority.

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http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ted-cruz-mitch-mcconnell-vote-republican-leader

[riversedge]

1. umm. cruz deflected. Reporter was not asking about a state vote.

[Thor_MN]

3. Not sure that deflection is the right word.

You are totally correct that he didn't answer the question, but I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he had no clue, or just didn't care what the reporter was asking about.


One thing that I noticed lately with the conservatives that I have to deal with, is that they don't ever really listen. They are too busy with their inner monologues that they just try to fit what you are trying to tell them into their perception of how things should be. I have a coworker that I quite often have to explain things to three times because he will incorrectly restate what I told him, fitting it into what he was thinking about, not what I was talking about. Context that most people can infer is totally lost on him, I have to lead him to the subject at hand before he can begin to get the point.

[giftedgirl77]

2. Cruz has to wait for further instructions from higher up

prior to commenting. All talking points must be ran through the Koch bros first.

[BlueDemKev]

4. I'll tell you who Ted Cruz SHOULD commit...

...his father to a mental institution.

[DFW]

5. Good! I'm glad to hear it

The last thing I want to hear is that there is a coherent, united anti-Obama front among the Republicans in the Senate. The Republicans are obstructive enough without their being united enough to present a solid, unified, anti-progress message.

The more the completely-crazies are fighting the somewhat-crazies for control of their caucus, the less unified their opposition will be. Thus--the more rationalizations there will be for a few Republicans to vote with us every now and then, giving as their justification that the crazy wing of their party was taking position so far from the mainstream, they felt an obligation to the country to provide a counter-balance, etc. etc. A solid wall of unity behind McTurtle would make that almost impossible.

[jmowreader]

6. He doesn't want his position to bite him in the ass

McConnell is number one on the Tea Party Hit List.

Since the tea party doesn't accept any deviation from their orthodoxy, if Cruz came out in support of McConnell he'd be primaried in 2018.