ICYMI: Cruz: It's Clear Obamacare Isn't Working and it's Becoming Harder for Democrats to Defend It
October 23, 2013
| press@cruz.senate.gov / (202) 228-7561
WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) joined Greta Van Susteren on Fox News this evening to discuss the latest developments in the fight to limit the harms of Obamacare. Video is available here.
RUSH TRANSCRIPT
Greta: Senator, nice to see you, sir.
Cruz: Greta, it's always good to be with you.
Greta: Well, big news today. A lot of Democrats are suddenly having sort of a different sentiment towards Obamacare. At least a lot of them are calling for an extension in the enrollment period. Two Democrats have called for individual mandate to be extended one year or delayed one year. I imagine you are watching this with some sort of sense of, what?
Cruz: Well, look. It's clear this thing isn't working. And it's becoming harder and harder for Democrats to defend. I mean, during the last two months we’ve been debating Obamacare, very few Democrats have tried to defend it on the substance. I think the American people are seeing it's not working. You have got the disasters with the web site. But more broadly you have got the impacts that are happening with jobs. It's the biggest job killer in the country. It's forcing people into part time work.
Greta: But we haven't gotten to that whether you are right or wrong we haven't even gotten to that point. We really are sort of at the implementation period. And it seems to be the core part of it is, you know, if the web site is a dud, that sort of puts, you know, the brakes on.
Cruz: Well, you know one of the reasons the web site is a dud is the directions the Administration gave the programmers was that they wanted to set it up where people couldn't see the prices until they had entered all of their personal information because they wanted to put the subsidies in to avoid sticker shock. So, you and are used to, if we want to go search for a plane we go on Orbitz or what have you, and we enter it in and we see the prices immediately. These things are designed so that you can't get the information until you put your personal and private information in it. That's one of the many problems these web sites have.
Greta: What do you think the President is thinking tonight about it?
Cruz: You know, he has so far shown no willingness to compromise whatsoever. I mean, the pattern we have seen, he grants exceptions to his friends, his cronies. He grants exemptions to big business. He grants exemptions to members of Congress. I am convinced that it is likely before the end of his term he plans to grant an exemption to the unions. He hasn't done that yet, but I think that is their intention.
Greta: What do you predict is going to happen in light of -- there now seems to be a rather big shift in how many Democrats looking at it. Many of them of course are up for re-election.
Cruz: I think we are seeing momentum. And I think it’s ironic, all the people that just a few weeks ago were saying there’s no way you can win this fight. There is no way we can do anything to stop Obamacare and they also said there is no way any D's are going to flip. We are starting to see Democrats flip as this thing -- it's a train wreck. It's not working. And, in any political fight, when the truth is on your side, you are in a good situation. And here the truth is this thing isn't working.
Greta: Well, I know that here in the Senate you‘ve had some of the Republicans, even your own Republican colleagues aren't real wild about the strategy deployed. But you were in Texas. You got a pretty warm reception down there.
Cruz: You know, I’ll tell you, it was breathtaking. It was really good to be home. We had rallies throughout the state. We had rallies in San Antonio, in Houston, and up in Dallas. And it was incredible, the reaction.
Cruz: Do you ever feel like sort of a loner on this?
Cruz: Not remotely because I am doing my best to stand with the 26 million Texans who sent me here. And to be honest, I mean, if given the choice between having the appreciation of Washington and being reviled in Texas or having the appreciation of Texas and being reviled in Washington, I will pick the latter 100 out of 100 times.
Greta: Do you think you are reviled here?
Cruz: In some quarters. – But you know, at the end of the day, I don’t work for the party bosses in this town. The people I work for are 26 million Texans. And the reaction at home, I can't tell you how many people said thank you, thank you for listening to us and not everyone in Washington. And I think the key to our fiscal and economic challenges. The key to bringing back jobs and economic growth is we’ve got to get more elected officials in Washington listening to the people and not listening to the party powers and the bosses here in Washington.
Greta: Senator, nice to see you. Always nice to see you. Welcome back to Washington, by the way.
Cruz: It's great to be back. And fortunately I’m flying back to Texas tomorrow morning.
Greta: Good to see you sir.
Cruz: Take care.
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