When Glenn opened the radio program this morning at 9am ET, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was more than 18 hours into his epic anti-Obamacare speech on the Senate floor. Sen. Cruz began his crusade at 2:40pm ET on Tuesday, when he announced: “I will rise today in opposition to Obamacare.” He later added that he would speak “until I am no longer able to stand.”
“18 hours, 25 minutes later, Ted Cruz does not have a hair out of place, and he is a machine,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “This guy I watched last night on the floor of the Senate and I thought, finally a debate on healthcare and a discussion on healthcare that was reasoned, was telling the truth, wasn't yelling and screaming. It was just, ‘Look, this is the fact. This is what's gonna happen.’”
While this may look and sound like a filibuster, Sen. Cruz’s actions will not actually halt the Senate from voting on the House Continuing Resolution passed on Friday that defunds Obamacare. Cloture had already been filed, and voting will begin today regardless of how long Sen. Cruz goes on.
Over the last 20+ hours, Sen. Cruz has proven time and time again that he is a gifted orator and his ability to continually convey his thoughts without much help. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Mike Lee (R-UT) have all taken part in the speech by asking Sen. Cruz questions – providing much needed relief. Glenn highlighted some of the best moments this morning.
“Here is a year ago Ted Cruz talking about, a year ago, things were different, but times have changed,” Glenn explained.
CRUZ: The argument you make is a serious one, and I would not encourage any member of this body to disregard the commitments they made to their constituents. But I would at the same time encourage every member not just to keep in mind the promises made on the campaign trail, but the ongoing views of your constituents because as circumstances change, all of us respond to change, circumstances including our constituents and so ‑‑
VOICE: Agreed.
CRUZ: One must certainly respect the promises made, but at the same time in the nine months we've been here, in the year since the three of us were active candidates, situation on ObamaCare's changed. Look, I very much opposed ObamaCare a year ago, two years ago, and three years ago. The time it was passed, I thought it was a bad idea. But a year ago the unions didn't oppose it. A year ago the president hadn't granted exemptions for big corporations. A year ago members of congress hadn't gone to the president and asked for an exemption and gotten it. A year ago we hadn't seen companies all over this country forcing people in 29 hours a week. A year ago we hadn't seen one big corporation after another dropping their health insurance coverage, such as UPS telling 15,000 employees "Your spousal coverage is being dropped because of ObamaCare. Your husbands and wives have just lost their coverage." So I would submit, Mr. President, that the circumstances have changed.
“He's doing this without teleprompter,” an impressed Pat said. “I think in most cases he's doing it without notes. These are all things that are off the top of his head – hour after hour after hour.”
One of the more interesting things Sen. Cruz drew attention to was the growing exodous of Congressional staffers because of the impending healthcare regulations.
CRUZ: What does it say about ObamaCare is such a disaster that congressional staffers ‑‑ and mind you, a lot of these congressional staffers who may tender their letters of resignation are staffers working for democratic senators who drafted ObamaCare, who fight for ObamaCare every day, what does it say that staffers would be willing to quit because the quality of healthcare under ObamaCare would be so poor that they would rather go somewhere else rather than be subject to those laws? I think that speaks volumes.
“These are great points that you just don't hear. That's why they've granted… themselves an exception,” Glenn said. “But you don't hear that it's because all of the staffers are quitting. I was so outraged last night… And I kept hearing that they have a special exemption, a special exemption. I know that. I've heard that, but the more you think about it, the more you realize – who do these people think they are? They're granting themselves the exception and we can't have it? We don't have that power. We can't do that. “
Sen. Cruz also reminded Americans that insurance premiums would go down as the result of the Affordable Care Act, but more and more people are realizing that is simply not the case.
CRUZ: You remember when President Obama was defending the ObamaCare bill, he told the American people, he promised the American people, he said, "As a result of ObamaCare, the average family's health insurance premium will drop $2,500." And he said, "That's going to happen by the end of my first term." Now, Madam President, I would point out the president's first term ended nine months ago. And by the end of the president's first term, that promise was proven not just a little off the mark, not just kind of sort of a little bit not entirely accurate. It was proven 100% categorically objectively false. Let me suggest to every American: If your health insurance premiums have dropped $2,500 as the President promised you, as the president promised the average family, so that there would be tens of millions for whom that was true, then I would encourage you to enthusiastically stand up and defend ObamaCare.
Finally, Sen. Cruz acknowledged just how out-of-control this healthcare debacle has become.
CRUZ: And the fact that this body is so torn apart by the notion that each of us would be subject to ObamaCare, subject to the same rules the American people are, it just highlights how broken Washington is.
“Do you see a hair out of place on Ted Cruz? The guy is audio animatronics. He is audio animatronics. Look at him,” Glenn said. “That guy is amazing.”
Front page image courtesy of the AP