Principle and Courage

Another potential Republican presidential candidate has taken the floor of the Senate to take on the Obama administration and its intransigence on issues that affect ordinary Americans. Sen Ted Cruz took the floor on Tuesday afternoon to discuss his opposition to the PPACA, known as Obamacare.

As this is written at 8AM on Wednesday morning, Sen Cruz passed the 18 hour mark, still looking strong, making his arguments in a strong, forceful voice. He easily passed the mark of 12 hours and 50 minutes set by Sen Rand Paul earlier this year, when Sen Paul stood up and discussed drone use on American soil during the confirmation hearings of CIA Director John Brennan.  He is still short of the mark set by Sen Strom Thurman in 1957, when he took to the floor to block the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

He knew as he started that he would not be able to get past mid-day Wednesday due to a procedural move placed by Sen Harry Reid, dictator of the Senate. But he felt so deeply on this issue, he took to the floor anyway.

The legislation in question is a House-passed funding bill, which, since once again no budget has been passed, will fund the government until November 15, sans funding for Obamacare. The Senate, controlled by Democrats and Sen Reid, will not pass the House bill because Obamacare is not funded. Hence, the shutdown of the government looms.

Those of you who have read other commentaries and comments by me know that I am against Obamacare for so many reasons. I support the Senator in his quest, because his point is to educate the American people of all the pitfalls of this terrible law.

Keep in mind that should the government "shutdown", over 70% of the government will still be online, including all branches of the Military, all facets of national security, the IRS and other critical areas of government. National parks, Library of Congress, museums, zoos, and other non-essential entities will be shuttered or furloughed. Programs like Social Security, Medicare and SNAP, will continue unabated.

In the end, Senator Cruz, like Senator Paul before him, has shown himself to be a man of principle and courage to stand up for his beliefs in the face of adversity. If anyone had doubts before in this man's ability to lead, reassessment is the word today.

Good job, Senator. You are a great American.