Maybe it's that missing comprehension gene ~ ~ Sooz

Getting all the way to the end of 'Green Eggs and Ham'
By Steve Benen - Wed Sep 25, 2013 10:06 AM EDT

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who's still talking to hear himself talk, raised a few eyebrows last night by reading, among other things, from Dr. Seuss.


For those who can't watch clips online, the far-right Texan read "Green Eggs and Ham" with great earnestness from the Senate floor. (He can't hold a candle to the Rev. Jesse Jackson's version, but let's put that aside for now.) Cruz continued to reference the book after having put it down, insisting it "has some applicability, as curious as it may sound, to the Obamacare debate."

He added, "The difference with green eggs and ham -- when Americans tried it, they discovered they did not like green eggs and ham, and they did not like Obamacare, either. They did not like Obamacare in a box, with a fox, in a house, or with a mouse."

There is, however, a small problem with Cruz's choice of literary references: he apparently didn't understand the story.

In "Green Eggs and Ham," our protagonist thinks he dislikes food he hasn't tried. By the end, the character discovers green eggs and ham really aren't so bad after all. Indeed, he comes to regret criticizing something he didn't fully understand, and ends up celebrating the very thing he'd complained about so bitterly.

Cruz thinks this "has some applicability, as curious as it may sound, to the Obamacare debate"? What a coincidence; I think it has some applicability, too.

Indeed, the larger point helps underscore why the right is fighting so furiously to defund, delay, sabotage, impair, malign, and otherwise undermine the federal health care law right now, before it's too late. Unhinged Republicans aren't worried Obamacare will fail; they're worried it will work and Americans will discover they quite like green eggs and ham after all.

Eugene Robinson had a good piece on this yesterday, published well ahead of the theatrics on the Senate floor.


Similarly, Josh Marshall referenced one of my favorite health care stories yesterday. Bill Kristol wrote a strategy memo as the Clinton-era health care fight was getting underway, urging Republicans to destroy reform at all costs. The conservative pundit said at the time that if Clinton succeeded, Democrats would be seen as the "protector of middle-class interests," and it would be politically impossible to take away the health care benefits once they were in place.

What the GOP had to do, Kristol said, was put the party's interests over the country's needs, stopping the reform effort before Americans discovered they like it. Republicans, of course, agreed.

Nearly two decades later, the script hasn't changed much, except now the green eggs and ham are on the plate and the public is poised to discover how much they like the very thing they've been told to complain about.

Why Ted Cruz thinks this story is helpful to his cause is a bit of a mystery, but maybe later today, one of his friends from Harvard or Princeton can have a chat with him about literary interpretation and the potency of metaphors.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/25/20692124-getting-all-the-way-to-the-end-of-green-eggs-and-ham?lite

Repeat: maybe it's that missing comprehension gene ~ ~ what a craven, pompous, egotistical jackass! ~ this is nothing more than an intra-party pissing match ~ ~ Sooz

At the intersection of self-defeating and self-aggrandizing
By Steve Benen - Wed Sep 25, 2013 8:00 AM EDT

The last time I checked, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was still on the Senate floor, taking his pointless talk-a-thon past the 16-hour mark. I don't doubt that the far-right Texan is pleased with himself -- Cruz loves both attention and the sound of his own voice, and this spectacle offers both -- though I can't help but wonder if the Republican realizes the extent to which he's undermining his own supposed cause.

Even on the surface, Cruz's marathon session is without meaningful purpose. Is he blocking a vote on a bill? No. Is he persuading skeptics to reconsider their position? No. Is he making a powerful policy argument? No, he's barely talking about policy at all. Rather, this is about Ted Cruz hosting a lengthy and high-profile celebration of Ted Cruz -- the far-right senator scripted some political theater and cast himself as his star, giving himself lines that position him as the Last Honest Man in Washington. I can only assume the senator ordered roses for himself, and left them waiting on his desk for his return, at which time he'll take a long bow in front of the largest mirror he can find.

As a New York Times editorial noted, Cruz's "combination of grandiosity and pure nastiness helps explain why the senator has become the least popular man in Washington."

But there's an under-appreciated angle to this: Cruz, whether he appreciates this or not, is engaged in the most self-defeating example of self-aggrandizement we've seen in a long while.

Senior Senate Republicans pushed Mr. Cruz on Tuesday to give up his stalling tactics and let the Senate take its final votes as soon as possible to strip out the health care language and other policy prescriptions, then approve new language to keep the government operating until mid-November. An early vote would give Speaker John A. Boehner more time to plan his next move: Whether to put the Senate-passed bill up for a vote and ensure no government shutdown or to add new Republican-favored language and send it back to the Senate.

If Mr. Cruz persists and forces the Senate to exhaust the time allowed for the necessary votes, the final vote cannot happen until Sunday.

Cruz claims he's fighting the good fight in the name of nobility, doing the hard work to oppose expanded access to affordable health care because no one else will.

But if he were sincere about his policy goals, and less preoccupied with self-promotion, Cruz would realize he's hurting his own cause.

I know legislative procedure is boring, so I'll be brief: the more Cruz tries to gum up the works in the Senate, slowing down the process as long as he can, the less time the House will have to act before the shutdown deadline. In other words, the government shuts down on Monday night, and if Cruz delays Senate action until Sunday night, it will leave House Republicans with no room for counter-measures. Boehner & Co. will face a binary choice: pass the Senate bill or shut down the government.

For its part, the House Republican leadership would actually prefer to play some more foolish games.

The House Republican leadership is seriously considering attaching a one-year delay of Obamacare's individual mandate to the Senate bill to avert a government shutdown, according to senior GOP aides. [...]

Several different tactics are under discussion within the top levels of House GOP leadership, and the path Republicans choose depends on several factors — chiefly the mood of rank-and-file Republicans when they return to Washington, and when the House gets the continuing resolution back from the Senate.

If the Senate were to wrap up its work, say, today, there would be time for the House to pass a rival bill, quickly send it back to the upper chamber, and tell senators, "Pass the House bill or you'll shut down the government."

And while the right may love this scenario, Cruz is making it impossible -- by stretching out the process, all the pressure will fall on the House GOP with just 24 hours left on the clock.

But don't worry, conservatives, I'm sure Cruz will have a great fundraising appeal in your mailbox any minute now.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/25/20690351-at-the-intersection-of-self-defeating-and-self-aggrandizing?lite

Send Cruz rotten, mouldy green eggs as campaign contributions.

Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) is a well known leftist. he would be appalled at the later Ted's politics. he would not like him, in a boat. he would no like him, with a goat. he would not like him here or there. he would not like him anywhere.

The filibuster is one of the silliest features of US Politics.

I'm relieved you said "one of".

~ GOOD JOB!!! ~

Sooz

What a waste of oxygen he is.

Surprise! Obamacare foe Cruz votes with Democrats on spending plan

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/25/politics/ ... index.html?

Ted Geisel was liberal but he is no longer living among us (1991). I attended a college near his hometown and had tbe pleasure of meeting him at 2 bookfairs. He was the kind of guy you wanted to spend more time with.He freely shared his address and phone number with students- we didn't use email or have cell phones in 1980.

i meant to say WAS. typo.

If I were one of the people who voted to put this idiot in office, I don't think I would ever go out in public again. No joke.

Cruz is one VERY odd and VERY dangerous guy ~ ~ Sooz

Cruz stops talking, watches his scheme collapse
By Steve Benen - Wed Sep 25, 2013 2:47 PM EDT

A few days ago, after House Republicans approved their "defund Obamacare" spending bill, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) came up with a plan. It wasn't a good plan, but Cruz hoped to find allies to help block the House bill -- which they support -- until Democrats agreed in advance to let the GOP win.

Indeed, just last night during his excruciatingly long, inconsequential speech, Cruz made the case that a vote to advance the House bill is a vote for the Affordable Care Act.

How'd that work out?


The vote, oddly enough, was 100 to 0. That's not a typo -- Cruz voted for cloture after saying he'd vote against cloture and urging his colleagues to do the same.

So now what happens?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) will offer an amendment to scrap the House's anti-healthcare provision, before filing cloture on the bill itself. Cruz might still try to obstruct, but he'd still be blocking the bill he likes, and he still doesn't have any friends.

From there, the Democrats' Obamacare provision will pass with a simple majority, as will the bill itself, probably late Sunday -- the day before the shutdown deadline.

At that point, House Republicans would either pass the Senate bill or shut down the government.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/09/25/20694568-cruz-stops-talking-watches-his-scheme-collapse

Do they require a mental eval for public office? Perhaps they need to start.

That would put all the talking heads out of work.