Sen. Ted Cruz has decided that the key to staying in the presidential race is to
mobilize the Christian right, and the key to mobilizing the Christian right is to lead the fight against Planned Parenthood. Leading the fight against Planned Parenthood means shutting down government over funding for it. But, Cruz says, if he shuts down government over this fight, it won't be his fault.
No, really.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), told pastors Tuesday that he would do his best to make sure the government could not be funded if that funding included any taxpayer support for Planned Parenthood—but that any attempt to blame him for a government shutdown that could result would be "nonsense." […]
In a conference call that more than 100,000 pastors received invitations to participate in, Cruz said members of both parties in Congress want an "empty show vote" on funding Planned Parenthood, one that "has no teeth and no consequence" and is not tied to must-pass legislation. There is a way to ensure that the vote will matter, he said: tying it to an appropriations bill funding the federal government.
"We can expect President Obama and many of the congressional Democrats to cry loudly that if Congress uses its authority, Congress will be quote 'shutting down the government.' That, of course, is nonsense," Cruz said. […]
"It is important that [Congress] hear also that a show vote will not suffice. An empty vote with no teeth on it will not suffice. Now is the time for Congress to act and actually end taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood," Cruz said.
It's not his fault if he's just doing God's will? No, as likely as he would be to claim that, he's actually implying that it will be the Democrats' fault if he refuses to allow a funding bill that cuts out Planned Parenthood. If they'd only acquiesce to him, then government wouldn't have to shut down, an argument that he also made in 2013 when Cruz rallied House Republicans to shut down the government over Obamacare funding. Cruz's theory was not proven when Democrats
were not blamed for that 16-day shutdown. And when Republicans were threatening another shutdown in 2014, the public was prepared to
not blame the Democrats again.
The extreme evangelical right might buy Cruz's snake oil, but they're the only ones. Which is why the Republicans leading Congress are so anxious to avoid going there again. Good luck, however, in keeping Cruz caged on this one.