During the primary season of 2012, Senator Mitch McConnell was expecting millions in establishment cash to propel Texas’ Lt. Governor David Dewhurst to the United States Senate. Dewhurst, in McConnell’s mind, would be another political asset for him, in his decades-long dream to become Senate Majority Leader. Dewhurst looked and acted the part. McConnell envisioned Dewhurst would become part of the establishment in the U.S. Senate and most importantly, someone who would never stand up to McConnell or confront the failed status quo.
But on July 31, 2012, conservative grassroots voters in Texas had a different idea. Those Texans were truly ahead of the curve; they already knew what millions now know so well – that Washington is broken and that Americans are being lied to by career politicians like Mitch McConnell. Those courageous voters listened to Ted Cruz’s message of speaking truth to power and sent him to the United States Senate. This was certainly a historic election for anti-establishment forces. However, no one could have foreseen just how critically important it would turn out to be.
Fast-forward to the summer of 2015. Senator and presidential candidate Ted Cruz has made good on his core promise to be the voice that would hold the Washington cartel accountable. Cruz has become the one elected official in Washington who will reliably call out the establishment every time it breaks a promise or kicks our nation’s biggest problems down the road for another day. And Mitch McConnell is tired of it. In fact, McConnell is so tired of Cruz’s courage and honesty, he appears determined to use every parliamentary tactic available to deny Ted Cruz time on the Senate floor to debate the important issues facing our country.
McConnell’s personal vendetta against Cruz has taken center stage once again this week, and it’s clear that McConnell has abandoned standing up for conservative Republican values or fighting Obama’s leftwing agenda in order to destroy Ted Cruz. The Republican Leader in the Senate should make President Obama defend those atrocious Planned Parenthood videos and force him to veto the defunding of Planned Parenthood. But Mitch McConnell thinks it’s a better idea to attack Ted Cruz. The Republican Congress should not pass any legislation that busts the budget caps. But Mitch McConnell will come up with a reason to bust the caps and attack Ted Cruz for standing on principle. The Republican Congress should make President Obama veto the repeal of Obamacare, border security, and countless other conservative policies the American people expect this Congress to deal with. Instead, Mitch McConnell and his leadership team appear poised to enact every letter of President Obama’s agenda just to spite Ted Cruz. Mitch McConnell is melting down.
McConnell has grown completely out of touch with the American people during his three decades in Washington. Even in the face of conservative grassroots activists driving House Speaker John Boehner from power for losing touch with voters, McConnell’s cynical instincts tell him to dig in and reject the very ideals that made him majority leader.
Ted Cruz is running for President with a very clear message. He wants to be the President who will finally take on the Washington cartel that Mitch McConnell presides over. Cruz is well-positioned to go the distance in his bid for the Republican nomination. But, if Senator Cruz doesn’t find himself at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he will be returning to the Senate as the most powerful conservative in America. Either way, Mitch McConnell is on notice – the days of honoring himself and his power will soon come to an end.