Senator Ted Cruz was interviewed on Fox News today. Host Chris Wallace asked Cruz what the end game is if the senate did not pass the house bill to defund Obamacare. The answer Cruz gave is just unbelievable:
“If Harry Reid kills the bill in the Senate, the House should hold its ground, and should begin passing smaller continuing resolutions, one department at a time,” Cruz explained. “It should start with a continuing resolution focused on the military.”
“Send it over, see if Harry Reid is willing to shut down the military,"
My take on Crazy Cruz is posted below the orange turd, and crossposted at All Things Democrat.
To be clear about this, if congress were to refuse to provide funding for the military, that would not mean that everyone in the service would just pack up and come on home to civilian jobs until funding resumed. Cruz is threatening to cut off the paychecks for our service members even as they risk their lives in Afghanistan and around the world.
Beyond the obvious damage this harebrained scheme would cause to America's national security, consider the effect this would have on American military personnel. Cruz cannot pass a law saying creditors must stop collecting obligations from those in the military. Cruz is willing to sacrifice the good credit of those who volunteered to serve in pursuit of his crazy vendetta. If Cruz has his way thousands upon thousands of military members will see their credit damaged. Lower credit scores will cost these patriots billions of dollars due to higher interest rates.
Imagine what would happen to enlistments if congress starts using military paychecks as the newest pawn in their perpetual game of chicken with the budget. Be All That You Can Be... while your family stands in line at the soup kitchen.
Besides being used to qualify for lower interest rates, credit scores are used to qualify for housing, job placement and even security clearances. Imagine needing a security clearance to do your job but not being able to pay your bills because of Ted Cruz and his crazy ass vendetta.
Of course this would apply to civilian contractors as well.
A lot of Republicans have spent the last week calling Ted Cruz names due to his Obamacare vendetta. Threatening to cut off funding for the military should be easy ammunition to make those attacks even more effective.