“If you say you oppose the president’s unconstitutional executive amnesty, show me where you stood up. If you say you support life and you support marriage, show me where you stood up and fought. If you say you’ll stand up to the Washington establishment, the career politicians of both parties that got us in this mess, then show me where you stood up and fought.” – Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)
Texas Senator Cruz urged voters to ask presidential candidates how they stood up and fought for conservative issues. (usnews.com)
“Talk is cheap,” said Senator Cruz during his appearance at the Iowa Freedom Summit on Jan. 24, 2015, as he demanded voters ask candidates how they have fought for conservative issues and against liberal issues.
Hearing Cruz speak, I was reminded of two issues that have been of concern to me. Would the GOP wins in the mid-terms embolden them to “man up” against a rogue president and would those in the Senate remind the opposition of the Reid Reign against order in that body? Would those who won in November stand up for issues they spoke of in their campaigns?
I was beginning to wonder when the trillion dollar “Cromnibus” bill passed in December, but I am seeing some signs of hope. Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress was, in my opinion, a superb response to a president who continuously insults Congress by going around them to suit his agenda.
Again, I found myself at odds with Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan, who called the invitation “a violation of diplomatic form, tradition and expectation.” But again, Noonan refuses to take a firm stand as she asks and answers her own question – “Does Mr. Obama deserve to be embarrassed in this way? Of course he does! In his long years in the presidency he has demonstrated no regard for the Republicans of Congress, and now they are showing no regard for him.”
What she fails to mention is that the president’s actions are not only a slap in the face of Republicans, but also members of his own party that make up the House and Senate. Where is the backbone in the Democrat party that allows the executive branch to circumvent their duties.
On my second issue of concern, I hope Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will orchestrate a measured restoration of order to the Senate. As he allows amendments, and opens debate he must be firm and mindful that he will face criticism from dissatisfied Democrats with short memories of the Reid Reign. Returning the Senate to its once vaunted title as the “world’s greatest deliberative body” will be difficult.
Incidentally, McConnell has already allowed votes on more amendments than Reid permitted in all of 2014.
Now, as we hold Congressional Republicans to their word as they move legislation, those seeking the presidency need the scrutiny Cruz asks of voters.
