Guest Post by Mara Zebest
Cruz is filibustering in protest of the tricks Harry Reid has planned to continue funding for Obamacare. As soon as the Republicans vote for cloture… they are voting to open the ability to strike out the defunding language with a simple majority vote (only 51 votes needed which the Democrats have). Contact Senators and tell them you support Cruz’s effort and also support a two-thirds vote to make any changes to the bill (in which more than 60 votes would be required).
To recap: If a Republican voted for cloture… they essentially voted to fund Obamacare and voted against the American people no matter what they tell their constituents. This trick allows Republicans to vote for cloture to allow the debate to begin, thus allowing Harry Reid and the Democrats to do their tricks. Later the same Republicans will vote against the bill and tell their constituents they voted against funding Obamacare—only they didn’t—because they voted for cloture.
Washington Times reports Cruz vows filibuster ‘until I am no longer able to stand’:
Sen. Ted Cruz began a talk-a-thon on the Senate Tuesday afternoon and vowed to keep speaking “until I am no longer able to stand” as he tries to halt President Obama’s health care law.
“I rise today to speak for 26 million Texans and 300 million Americans,” Mr. Cruz began.
He took to the floor armed with a big black binder, thick with papers, presumably to read as he talks.
He began at 2:41, and can talk up until noon tomorrow, when under the Senate rules he would have to stop and the Senate would proceed to vote on ending debate and bringing the spending bill to the floor.
The bill right now includes provisions to defund Obamacare, which Mr. Cruz supports, but under the rules Democrats can strip those provisions out with a majority vote. So Mr. Cruz is trying to block the entire bill — including the parts he supports — in protest.
UPDATE 1: McConnell won’t support Cruz on Obamacare vote. Time for a new Senate leader and to have a challenger to McConnell’s seat when up for re-election.
UPDATE 2: Ted Cruz reads a few letters from those impacted by Obamacare to #MakeDCListen:
