The (Unintentional) Comic Stylings Of Ted Cruz
Texas junior senator Ted Cruz drew laughs from an audience in the nation’s capitol today. Where does he get this material?
[H]e claimed that he “didn’t want a shutdown” over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law.
At The Atlantic’s Washington Ideas Forum, Fox News host Chris Wallace pointed out to the Texas Republican that many of his colleagues thought he hurt the party by forcing the government shutdown instead of letting Obamacare fail on its own.
“That ignores who I think was responsible for the shutdown,” Cruz replied. “I didn’t want a shutdown. Throughout the whole thing, I said we shouldn’t have a shutdown.”
That remark elicited laughter from the forum audience.
“Now, folks here can disagree,” Cruz said, turning to the crowd. “But repeatedly, I voted to keep the government open.”
“In my view based on where things are right now, I think stopping Obamacare is the essence of pragmatism,” he added. “The most pragmatic thing we could do is say, ‘Listen, this isn’t working. Let’s start over.'”
Wallace then turned to the 2016 race, but Cruz insisted that he was focused on the Senate instead of running for president.
“But, sir,” Wallace said. “At the risk of being a smart aleck, for somebody who is focused on the Senate, you’re spending a lot of time in Iowa.”
