Clippings

Posts for Tag: shutdown

Is It a Game?

The New York Times acknowledges the central role of Ted Cruz and the confusion he has caused.

Even Republican allies say whatever strategy exists seems to be dictated not by the speaker, but by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, the hard-line Republican who helped start the “Defund Obamacare” movement.

Asked what the House was doing, Representative Devin Nunes, Republican of California and a Boehner loyalist, said: “You really have to call Cruz, I’m not even joking about that. That’s really what you have to do, because he’s the one that set up the strategy, he’s the one that got us into this mess, and so we’ve got to know what the next move is.”

That's the Ted Cruz who is coming to Virginia this weekend in support of candidate Ken Cuccinelli

That’s why Mr. Cruz, the architect of the current showdown in Congress and the tea party’s champion, is a problem for Mr. Cuccinelli. A bear hug will alienate swing voters. The cold shoulder will incite tea partyers. Perhaps Mr. Cuccinelli will try for a warm but brief handshake.

Mr. Cuccinelli has tried, unconvincingly, to split the difference, and his handlers have been at pains to emphasize that the Family Foundation dinner is not a campaign event. He continues to heap scorn on the health-care law, while suggesting, sotto voce, that he opposes the shutdown. “I’d like to see Obamacare pulled out of federal law,” said Mr. Cuccinelli. “But, you know, we’ve got to keep moving forward and make compromises to get the budget going.”

At The New York Times, Charles Blow runs with John Boehner's statement.

This is a damn game, and the American people are tired of playing it. 

And over at Google+, the #GovernmentShutdown hashtag is pretty popular. I should have realized before this morning that there's a Government Shutdown & Furlough Community at Google+, too.