Texas Senator Ted Cruz isn’t a villain for his vote on the government shutdown | Opinion
Congress averted a government shutdown Saturday by the skin of its teeth.
At the 11th hour, lawmakers reached a temporary deal, dubbed a continuing resolution, to keep the wheels churning until Nov. 17. As usual, both sides found a way to avoid work while looking like heroes — a real talent of politicians.
Some politicians ended up making more news than others, our own Sen. Ted Cruz among them, though whether the news is good or bad likely depends on how one views government spending.
Cruz was one of just nine Republicans who voted against the continuing resolution that stopped the government from shutting down. Just a few days earlier, Cruz gave an impassioned floor speech trying to rally support for a bill that would have ensured our members of the military would continue to receive paychecks if the government shut down.
Some might argue that voting for military members to receive paychecks during a shutdown while also, actually, voting against the bill that averted a government shutdown is a bit like stepping on a rattlesnake instead of actually just killing it. Cruz’s comrades were far-right Republicans, like Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
“Conservative hardliners demanded spending cuts that had zero chance of passing in the Democratic-controlled Senate and weren’t palatable for some moderate GOP lawmakers,” Ken Tran wrote at USA Today.
Cruz’s strongest possible opponent in his Senate race, Democrat Collin Allred, immediately used it against him, posting on X: “Ted Cruz voted to shut down the government yesterday. He voted to force our service members and CBP agents to go without pay, and to deny Texans and our small businesses resources we need. Ted Cruz is too extreme for Texas. Together, we will replace him.”
In Cruz’s defense, such as it is, he did have a decent reason, one fellow conservatives will applaud. In a press release, Cruz said:
“No one wants a government shutdown, and I have proudly championed the End Government Shutdowns Act, which would send the government into an automatic continuing resolution with a one percent reduction in spending if Congress could not get its act together to fund the government.
“However, Democrats are opposed to spending cuts, or spending limits of any kind, even their own spending limit that they agreed to less than four months ago. This continuing resolution does nothing to address the acute crisis at the Texas-Mexico border, itself created by deliberate Democrat policies. I voted no.”
While it’s impressive for Cruz to stick to his principles — principles he likely believes his conservative constituents share — politics is a game, unfortunately, and he must play the hand he’s been dealt. He stood against a bill that wasn’t going to pass, handing what political capital he had to Allred to use in campaign ads for the next year.
They’ll play on a loop, just wait.
C’mon Cruz, like Kenny Rogers crooned decades ago, “You got to know when to hold ‘em, and know when to fold ‘em.”
Cruz is right to try to curb spending and, of course, to prioritize the chaotic border. But given that there are dozens of opportunities throughout session to do so, it doesn’t seem like the best time to become a stalwart against government spending is right before the government shuts down.
That said, he’s no villain, and Allred should be careful to paint him as such. At least Cruz had a good reason that makes sense to his constituents. Everybody else who voted for the resolution, thus preventing the shutdown, doesn’t get to walk away a hero, either.
Passing a bill that kicks the can down is like breaking into someone’s house — our house, ahem, actually — and then only stealing one gold necklace instead of all the cash, jewelry and other valuables around.
Thanks, but, no thanks.
We too have made a living out of reading people’s faces and we can tell when the government’s out of aces and trying to play us all.
