The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad

Posted on | September 25, 2013 | 40 Comments

Readers may have noticed that I have been ignoring the ObamaCare “Don’t Fund It” dramatics, along with the “government shutdown” threat and the punditry gabfest that have accompanied it. Depending on who you listen to, either Ted Cruz is the future of the Republican Party or else Ted Cruz is the harbinger of the final collapse of the GOP.

I hate ObamaCare and like Ted Cruz, but the reason I’ve ignored all the “Don’t Fund It” drama is because it’s a legislative process story.

And I hate legislative process stories.

For an entire decade, my job at the Washington Times required me to edit legislative process stories, including the interminable debates over budget bills during the Clinton and Bush presidencies. Day after day, our Capitol Hill reporters would file their stories about the latest developments in the process — the hearings, the debate, the amendments, etc. — and I had to pay close attention to every detail of this stuff, even though it was as boring as watching paint dry.

The glamour! The excitement! The journalistic thrill of formatting another roll-call graphic on a Senate cloture vote.

The Politics of Gesture is also something with which I’m familiar, having watched Congress and President Bush enact federal law to keep Terry Schiavo alive, which turned out to be futile symbolism.

So I’m pro-Cruz and anti-ObamaCare, and therefore supportive of Cruz and the “Don’t Fund It” movement, but I simply haven’t been able to bring myself to submerge into the day-by-day coverage that would have us believe this is anything other than a legislative process story and an exercise in the Politics of Gesture.

Spare me the “What It Means” punditry. Spare me the GOP Establishment denunciations of Cruz, and also spare me Tea Party denunciations of Republicans who don’t support Cruz. Most of all, spare me those “Republican Divided” chyrons on MSNBC, and spare me the umpteenth network Sunday show roundtable discussion.

Via Memeorandum, here is your “Don’t Fund It” headline stack:

Cruz Quotes ‘Duck Dynasty,’ Toby Keith
in Night-Long Attack on Obamacare 
— ABC News

How Ted Cruz’s Anti-Obamacare Filibuster
Could Cost Him Millions<
— BuzzFeed

Reid’s office: Cruz filibuster is fake 
— The Hill

Democrats see GOP shutdown threat
as opening for 2014 election gains
—  Washington Post

So, is this a “win” for Republicans? Or is this a public-relations nightmare that will help Democrats? I don’t know, and neither do any of the pundits who are claiming to know What It Means.

The significance of such things is never apparent except in hindsight, because the future is unpredictable. Many of the pundits who are blabbering away on cable TV news are engaged in “wishcasting,” predicting the future as a way of trying to influence the future.

Far be it from me to suppose that my influence is such that anything I say about this will make the slightest bit of difference either way.

Next week, there will be another LOOMING CRISIS we’re all supposed to care about, and everyone will have forgotten this week’s crisis.

UPDATE: TC Lynch at Leather Penguin:

Listening to the timbre of his voice, he doesn’t sound gassed. And his wingman, Utah’s Mike Lee, is still there, able to give him an occasional breather by “asking a question.” He’ll probably still be going strong when Mika and Scarborough — who has hammered Cruz at every opportunity — fire up “Morning Joe.” That alone is enough reason for me to maybe tune in to that trainwreck for the first time in years. (UPDATE-6:00AM: Took a look; still a trainwreck (see Geraghty).

Speaking of Joe Scarborough, do you realize he’s like 6-foot-4?

When I met him at the National Review Institute event earlier this year, I realized that being The Big Guy is part of Scarborough’s problem. There is such a thing as “Short Man’s Syndrome” — the pipsqueak who feels a need to overcompensate — and there is also such a thing as “Big Man’s Syndrome,” the guy whose sheer size habituates him to domineering behavior. Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson, both of whom were tall guys, had this tendency, and I think Joe Scarborough’s arrogant domineering attitude has similar origins.

 

Category: Budget, Health Care, Senate

Comments

40 Responses to “Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad”

  1. MrEvilMatt
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:41 am

    Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad: Readers may have noticed that I have … http://t.co/4h2nz87zJs

  2. CHideout
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:41 am

    Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad: Readers may have noticed that I have … http://t.co/73AwDUMs6l

  3. Citzcom
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:41 am

    Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad: Readers may have noticed that I have … http://t.co/RkbNr1x7Yh

  4. jwbrown1969
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:41 am

    Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad: Readers may have noticed that I have … http://t.co/NaegJKRHFf

  5. Cateontheright
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:44 am

    Not us #CruzControlRT @commonpatriot: via @rsmccain: Cruz Goes All Night; Vndrs of Cnvntnl Wsdm Say This Is Bad http://t.co/Z8yuWEL7qf #tcot

  6. rsmccain
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:47 am

    It’s a legislative process story, and I HATE legislative process stories. http://t.co/KcelSwuqE7

  7. kmhord
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:49 am

    RT @rsmccain: It’s a legislative process story, and I HATE legislative process stories. http://t.co/KcelSwuqE7

  8. rsmccain
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:49 am

    “The glamour! The excitement! The journalistic thrill of formatting a roll-call graphic on a Senate cloture vote.” http://t.co/KcelSwuqE7

  9. TC_LeatherPenguin
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:50 am

    I may not know what it “means,” but I know what it feels like from where I’m sitting http://bit.ly/1flVTbB

  10. dellabenghazi
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:53 am

    RT @rsmccain: “The glamour! The excitement! The journalistic thrill of formatting a roll-call graphic on a Senate cloture vote.” http://t.c…

  11. Pablo
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:57 am

    Paul Rahe captures the intent, at least, if not the ultimate result. http://ricochet.com/main-feed/After-Cruz-Has-Said-His-Piece-.-.-.

  12. NeoWayland
    September 25th, 2013 @ 9:10 am

    I’m more interested what is happening outside the “halls of power.”

    Obamacare is going to live and die because of what American citizens do or don’t do, not because of Congress.

    What I’m seeing is a growing resentment that the Federal government inflicted this on the rest of us.

    What happens when all those discontented citizens decide “No?”

    That’s the party, the rest of this is just the setup.

  13. Russwkoch
    September 25th, 2013 @ 9:10 am

    RT @rsmccain: “The glamour! The excitement! The journalistic thrill of formatting a roll-call graphic on a Senate cloture vote.” http://t.c…

  14. librarygryffon
    September 25th, 2013 @ 9:12 am

    Well, conventional wisdom hasn’t exactly been doing well for us the last few years, so I’m willing to ignore it for a while. What Cruz is doing may not be “wise”, but to those of us outside the DC bubble, at least he’s trying to do something, which is more than the Stupid Party leaders are doing. And surprise, surprise, he’s actually representing the wishes of constituents, which is more than most of our congresscritters do either.

  15. Bob Belvedere
    September 25th, 2013 @ 9:21 am

    -What librarygryffon said.

    -At the very, very least this is a morale booster for those of us that are engaged in the war to restore our freedoms and liberties.

    -In war, you often don’t get to pick the battlefield, but that’s no excuse for not fighting the battle, even though the odds are against you. Might I remind you of what Chesty Puller said: ‘We’re surrounded; that simplifies the problem’.

    -May I also remind you of what Andrew of blessed memory said: ‘Fuck you! War!’.

  16. archonix
    September 25th, 2013 @ 9:34 am

    Surrounded: also know as a “target-rich environment”.

  17. DeeHoer420
    September 25th, 2013 @ 10:18 am

    Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad http://t.co/sd0Qm314ZE

  18. Garym
    September 25th, 2013 @ 10:43 am

    -At the very, very least this is a morale booster for those of us that are engaged in the war to restore our freedoms and liberties.
    I know that I have personally been in a funk since January, realizing that I am forced to pay as much for my family’s health insurance as I am for my mortgage every month. Up almost $250 over what I was paying in 2012.
    Ted Cruz is someone I will support.

  19. richard mcenroe
    September 25th, 2013 @ 10:56 am

    Mitch McConnell can’t control John McCain, he can’t control Ted Cruz and he sure can’t scare Harry Reid. It’s time he resigned his leadership in the GOP Senate. There’s no way he survives his primary now anyway.

  20. bet0001970
    September 25th, 2013 @ 10:56 am

    Actually McCain, there is one thing that is readily apparent.

    Cornyn has been badly damaged by openly agressing Cruz on this issue. He is much more popular that Cornyn. I have been monitoring what has been happening with the two of them for the last 36 hours straight. And Texans are turning on Cornyn like they turned on Dewhurst.

    Only this is much worse. Texans have been calling him a traitor. They’re saying he’s aligned with Reid. They’ve even been invoking the Alamo. And when we go to the Alamo…you fucked up bitch.

    There has been a LOT of talk about primary-ing him. And if anyone thinks they can’t find a candidate in time…think again. They’ll probably dip into the State legislature. And with an endorsement from the TP, Cruz, and Greg Abbott…Cornyn could actually lose. Despite having a substantial war chest.

    I’ll tell you the same thing I told the readers on Patterico’s blog. Texans have long memories. And if Cornyn gets re-elected, it will be by the skin of his teeth.

  21. Quartermaster
    September 25th, 2013 @ 11:08 am

    From your finger tips to God’s ear! I hope the people quit being sheep and rise up against this. I have serious doubts, but I can hope.

  22. Quartermaster
    September 25th, 2013 @ 11:10 am

    I’ll send money to McConnell’s opposition. I’ll send money to the Dimocrat if he survives the primary. I’m sick of being stabbed in the back.

  23. Rosalie
    September 25th, 2013 @ 11:16 am

    Finally, I feel someone in Washington is on my side. That’s a good feeling for a change. Cruz is explaining what Obamacare is all about. He’s spelling out the disaster like no one else has. He’s reading actual letters and tweets. I read that Pres. Clinton said the only way it’s going to work is if the young people get it. Great. As though we can count on them. No matter what happens, Cruz will be remembered for trying to stop the train wreck. And, hopefully, we’ll get rid of the blastards that stood in his way. Even Trump wondered why the “ruling class Republicans” fight Cruz and Lee more than Obama and the Democrats? Why? That’s easy to explain. They’re no different than Obama and the Democrats.

  24. K-Bob
    September 25th, 2013 @ 11:24 am

    It was a blast to follow over the long hours from 2am thru 9am. Twitter was huge, and I rarely go there. I noticed the page at Scoop’s was reloading sloooow. Same at the ONT at Ace’s. Worst relative internet speed at 4:30am I’ve ever seen.

    I’m betting C-SPAN has never had this many people viewing at 4am, ever.

    I tell folks it was like watching Cronkite when I was a kid, getting up at 4am to cover launches from Canaveral: EVERYBODY who could watch it was watching.

  25. Rosalie
    September 25th, 2013 @ 11:46 am

    Obama doesn’t even know what the heck’s in it. All he knows is that it means bigger government so it’s got to be good.

  26. K-Bob
    September 25th, 2013 @ 11:50 am

    You’re right. I’ll bet he couldn’t pass a simple test on the bill. Not without his teleprompter.

  27. Regular Right Guy
    September 25th, 2013 @ 12:00 pm

    ‘I think Joe Scarborough’s arrogant domineering attitude has similar origins.’ That’s so unattractive in a liberal puke.

  28. ajpwriter
    September 25th, 2013 @ 12:17 pm

    I also have not bothered to care about the intricacies of ‘Defund’ or ‘Delay’. Whatever stops the goddamn thing. If the first one doesn’t work, do the other one. Keep doing it until you stop it or it takes effect. If the latter should occurr, you spend the next 12 months saying “We tried to stop it.” over and over and over again.

    The rest is commentary.

  29. Rosalie
    September 25th, 2013 @ 12:45 pm

    Who are these “vendors of conventional wisdom” anyway? I hope they’re not Krauthhammer and Tucker Carlson. Instead of talking about what Cruz’s objective is, they talked instead about the fact that he couldn’t run for President. It was very satisfying indeed to learn that Prof. Jacobson tweeted them a link to the extenstive research he did. I’m sure they were sorry to hear that Cruz can run. He also admonished them for talking about that instead of Obamacare.

  30. K-Bob
    September 25th, 2013 @ 1:02 pm

    Good for him. His article was thorough.

  31. K-Bob
    September 25th, 2013 @ 1:02 pm

    Good for him. His article was thorough.

  32. bet0001970
    September 25th, 2013 @ 1:36 pm

    You are dead on. It was an epic civics course. And Rubio actually did seem to redeem himself quite a bit. I’m still mad at him, but…

    he was simply…inspiring.

  33. La Pucelle
    September 25th, 2013 @ 2:30 pm

    The only bit of real amusement you missed was various journalists exposing the fact that they don’t understand Senatorial voting process: http://twitchy.com/2013/09/25/journalists-bloggers-expose-their-ignorance-of-senate-parliamentary-procedure/

  34. thatMrGguy
    September 25th, 2013 @ 3:26 pm

    Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad http://t.co/kB92bMhTvM

  35. Ted Cruz Pulls All-Nighter, but the Important Thing is Peter King | Regular Right Guy
    September 25th, 2013 @ 3:35 pm

    […] heard by now that Sen. Ted Cruz carried his ‘talkibuster’ into the wee hours and on into full daylight to strike the […]

  36. AmPowerBlog
    September 25th, 2013 @ 6:30 pm

    Heh. “Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad.” http://t.co/XYz3P0btkg via @RSMcCain #DefundObamaCare

  37. exposeliberals
    September 25th, 2013 @ 6:31 pm

    RT @AmPowerBlog: Heh. “Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad.” http://t.co/XYz3P0btkg via @RSMcCain #Defu…

  38. BobBelvedere
    September 25th, 2013 @ 6:36 pm

    RT @AmPowerBlog: Heh. “Ted Cruz Goes All Night; Vendors of Conventional Wisdom Say This Is Bad.” http://t.co/XYz3P0btkg via @RSMcCain #Defu…

  39. Bob Belvedere
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:08 pm

    Don’t trust him, Bet. He’s a pol through and through, which means he’ll take whatever stand he believes will advance his career. Whereas, Mr. Cruz [so far – we’ll see] appears to be, as Mark Levin suggests, like Ronald Reagan.

  40. Finrod Felagund
    September 25th, 2013 @ 8:15 pm

    Matt Bevin is his Republican primary opponent:

    https://mattbevin.com/?