Ted Cruz has put Greg Abbott in a box. Cruz’s fake filibuster has created a litmus test to determine which Republican office holders really oppose Obamacare – those who are willing to risk political capital to kill the healthcare bill, or those who are just using anti-Obamacare rhetoric to promote themselves within a party that is openly disdainful of anything associated with President Obama.Cruz’s demand of fellow Republicans is pretty simple – if you legitimately oppose Obamacare, then the only course of action is a full government shutdown until the healthcare law is defunded and made inoperable. Of course, this posture is relatively easy for Ted Cruz; he can afford to be extreme and pull silly stunts like reading Dr. Seuss on the Senate floor – he’s not up for re-election until 2018. However, for Republicans on the ballot in 2014, it will separate the purists from the self promoters.
Then there is Greg Abbott.
Abbott’s hide and watch strategy
Ted Cruz worked for Greg Abbott and the two profess to have a mentor/protégé relationship. So far, though, Greg Abbott hasn’t been able to muster the courage to give a straight answer on Ted Cruz’s call to shut down the government over the defunding of Obamacare. Abbott happily slams Obamacare but then sheepishly ducks the question of whether or not opposition to Obamacare is worth shutting down the federal government. Rather than giving a straight-up answer, he said, “As far as the internal machinations, the way the Congress’ budgetary process works, that’s outside the sphere of my expertise.”
