A simple fact is missing from all the media hysteria and political establishment temper tantrums over Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee’s attempt to defund Obamacare.
Americans are getting slammed by Obamacare right now. Workforces are decimated as health care prices rise. Public opinion is on our side. If now was not the time to unite and fight it, when was? Those who are attacking Cruz and Lee’s efforts have forgotten how negotiations are won.
Use as an example the negotiations a governor of energy-rich Alaska must engage in with powerful multinational oil tycoons. In my experience, I found that the key to achieving success for the people you’re elected to serve is to take a firm position, stand solid, and negotiate from there when the other guy is ready to take you seriously. You fight as hard as you can with whatever small edge you’ve got until the other guy respects you enough to wise up, sit down, and come to a mutually acceptable agreement. You get nothing at all if you preemptively surrender before the battle even commences.
Imagine how much stronger the GOP’s hand would have been if every Republican (and those Democrats who’ve finally admitted Obamacare’s devastating flaws) stood together against cloture in order to prevent Harry Reid from cutting off debate and stripping Obamacare defunding from the bill?
Not only would there have been pressure on red state Democrats up for re-election to join the right cause, there would have been pressure on Reid and the White House to negotiate agreements. Even if the GOP couldn’t have defunded all of Obamacare, they could have negotiated some relief for average Americans who now feel they can do nothing but brace for the coming train wreck. We average Americans know we’ll never get the exemptions and favors Obama gave his political cronies and Congress, but any relief for the middle class would have been welcomed.
But Republicans got nothing from squabbling with each other and denouncing (on and off the record) the brave men who tried to do something.
Ted Cruz and Mike Lee fought to fulfill the campaign promises every Republican made, and their actions have been revelatory for all of us.
Hunters know what flushing dogs do. Cruz and Lee were acting as the grassroots’ flushing dogs. Their actions showed us who was willing to stand up for hard working Americans and who wasn’t. We thank Senators Vitter, Paul, Crapo, Enzi, Fischer, Roberts, Scott, Heller, Grassley, Toomey, Moran, Rubio, Shelby, Risch, Inhofe, Portman, and Sessions for standing with Cruz and Lee.
In 2010, a galvanized grassroots rallied against Obamacare to carry Republicans to victory. But in 2012, many in the grassroots stayed home, and we saw how that turned out for the GOP.
Unfortunately, the message of some politicians today seems to be: “Whoopsie, seems I can’t fulfill my election promises, but vote for me again and I promise to do what I promised last time.”
Sorry, that doesn’t cut it. America, you deserve better. If they can’t do anything with the power you gave them through their elected office, then you deserve someone else to give it a try.
2014 is just around the corner, and we’re ready for it. Support those who do us a favor by flushing out politicians wanting to hide. Retrieving liberty must be the point in all this.
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