TRAILBLAZERSBLOG.DALLASNEWS.COM 3 Hours Ago
Sen. Ted Cruz comes out swinging on Obamacare, debt limit, gun control
by Todd J. Gillman
Vice President Joe Biden administers the Senate Oath at a mock swearing-in for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accompanied by his wife, Heidi Nelson Cruz, and their daughters Caroline and Catherine, right. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz — having officially taken the oath of office from Vice President Joe Biden, then reenacted that moment for C-Span3 in the Old Senate Chamber — calls it “a tremendous honor” to be in Congress.
“It is humbling to now have the responsibility of representing 27 million Texans,” he said. “…The entire day has been magical. I have to admit that any time someone addresses me as senator I find myself turning my head trying to figure out who on earth they’re talking to.”
The senator spent a half-hour on a conference call with Texas reporters. Some highlights.
As promised during the campaign, he still plans to focus the first bill he files on an attempt to “repeal very syllable of every word of Obamacare,” though he’s realistic. With Obama reelected and Democrats still in control of the Senate, “We know to a metaphysical certainly that that bill is not going to pass any time soon.” So he’ll do whatever he can to prevent implementation of that law.
He laughed, literally, at Obama’s recent suggestion that there won’t be a debate over whether to raise the debt ceiling. The federal government will hit its credit limit in roughly two months and Obama argues that default to any degree is unthinkable, especially because it entails spending that Congress has already authorized. “I know he said that and I’m sure he would like not to discuss it,” Cruz said, making clear that Obama will, in fact, face pushback when the time comes.
That was his father’s Bible he used for the swearing-in. Rafael Cruz, a Cuban immigrant, is now a pastor in Dallas and was on hand for the festivities. “We spent many an hour with the entire family sitting on the couch in the living room with my father reading from that Bible, so it was very meaningful to have it there today,” Sen. Cruz said.
He’s very pleased to have landed an assignment on the Judiciary Committee. A former law clerk for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and the state’s former chief appellate lawyer, Cruz said he’ll fight as hard as he can to ensure that Obama doesn’t shift the balance of power at the high court. “We are one justice away from a five-justice liberal majority that could overturn decades of precedent,” he said.
He’ll resist any effort to tighten gun laws in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., in particular a bill from California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “Gun registries have been used as a preface to confiscation,” Cruz said, arguing that the federal government should never be allowed to keep track of legally-owned firearms and their owners. “It’s a tragedy, but it’s not a tragedy that should be answered by restricting the constitutional rights of all Americans,” Cruz said.
Sen. Ted Cruz comes out swinging on Obamacare, debt limit, gun control
by Todd J. Gillman
Vice President Joe Biden administers the Senate Oath at a mock swearing-in for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accompanied by his wife, Heidi Nelson Cruz, and their daughters Caroline and Catherine, right. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)
WASHINGTON — Sen. Ted Cruz — having officially taken the oath of office from Vice President Joe Biden, then reenacted that moment for C-Span3 in the Old Senate Chamber — calls it “a tremendous honor” to be in Congress.
“It is humbling to now have the responsibility of representing 27 million Texans,” he said. “…The entire day has been magical. I have to admit that any time someone addresses me as senator I find myself turning my head trying to figure out who on earth they’re talking to.”
The senator spent a half-hour on a conference call with Texas reporters. Some highlights.
As promised during the campaign, he still plans to focus the first bill he files on an attempt to “repeal very syllable of every word of Obamacare,” though he’s realistic. With Obama reelected and Democrats still in control of the Senate, “We know to a metaphysical certainly that that bill is not going to pass any time soon.” So he’ll do whatever he can to prevent implementation of that law.
He laughed, literally, at Obama’s recent suggestion that there won’t be a debate over whether to raise the debt ceiling. The federal government will hit its credit limit in roughly two months and Obama argues that default to any degree is unthinkable, especially because it entails spending that Congress has already authorized. “I know he said that and I’m sure he would like not to discuss it,” Cruz said, making clear that Obama will, in fact, face pushback when the time comes.
That was his father’s Bible he used for the swearing-in. Rafael Cruz, a Cuban immigrant, is now a pastor in Dallas and was on hand for the festivities. “We spent many an hour with the entire family sitting on the couch in the living room with my father reading from that Bible, so it was very meaningful to have it there today,” Sen. Cruz said.
He’s very pleased to have landed an assignment on the Judiciary Committee. A former law clerk for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and the state’s former chief appellate lawyer, Cruz said he’ll fight as hard as he can to ensure that Obama doesn’t shift the balance of power at the high court. “We are one justice away from a five-justice liberal majority that could overturn decades of precedent,” he said.
He’ll resist any effort to tighten gun laws in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., in particular a bill from California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. “Gun registries have been used as a preface to confiscation,” Cruz said, arguing that the federal government should never be allowed to keep track of legally-owned firearms and their owners. “It’s a tragedy, but it’s not a tragedy that should be answered by restricting the constitutional rights of all Americans,” Cruz said.
Comments
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment, just make sure they are not vulgar or they will be removed.