Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate who is "dripping with contempt" for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and growing increasingly alienated from others in his party, is unwavering and unapologetic in his hard-line positions, according to
Politico.
"After accusing McConnell repeatedly of lying about his plans to move a bill to revive the Export-Import Bank, Cruz has called McConnell the 'so-called' Republican leader and a cog in the 'McConnell-Reid' leadership team," Politico reports. "He said McConnell is 'undermining the liberty of the people' and 'expanding' Washington at the expense of taxpayers."
On the Senate floor last week, Cruz called out McConnell for "lying" over a deal to vote on reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.
On Sunday,
he told CNN that McConnell’s actions "were directly contrary to the promises the majority leader made to 53 Republicans and to the press. My saying so is uncomfortable, but it is a simple fact entirely consistent with decorum and no member of this body has disputed that promise was made and that promise was broken."
Fellow Republicans, including Arizona Sen. John McCain, South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, and Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, have been critical of Cruz’s tactic of publicly disparaging McConnell.
"Squabbling and sanctimony may be tolerated in other venues — or perhaps on the campaign trail — but they have no place among colleagues in the United States Senate," Hatch chided from the Senate floor during a speech reprimanding Cruz.
Cruz, a far right, Ivy League-educated constitutionalist known for his anti-establishment positions, is "running for president largely on a campaign to tap in to the conservative base’s fury with the party establishment," according to Politico, so antagonizing the Republican leadership doesn’t bother him.
Earlier this year,
Talking Points Memo reported that Cruz’s "willingness to naysay, more than any policy position or connection to the conservative grassroots, is what distinguishes him from other Republican presidential hopefuls."
Politico concurred, pointing out that Cruz seeks to "stoke voter antipathy toward Washington and showcase himself as the true leader fighting an entrenched establishment," so "he has little need for party leaders."
"He’s not trying to pass major legislation, where trust-building and buy-in from party leaders are essential. Instead, he’s trying to stop what he views as bad deal-making by GOP leaders too eager to capitulate."
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