>>>Well the republicans are on a bit of a losing streak, dont you think? they tried to defeat president obama in 2008. lost that baby. tried to get in in 2012, lost again. they tried to proclaim the affordable care act unconstitutional. that didnt work. they nearly defaulted on the countrys debts. but they lost that one too. david denby wrote cruz resembles one of those war chariots with blades flashing from the wheels. when things go wrong, he only sharpens the blades. he seeks the presidency, of course and he appears to be doing it by sowing as much confusion and disorder as possible. in an interview he did with abc with fusion network -- i think thats spanish translation. cruz said that president obama is abusing his power. >> you think president obama has been abusing his power? >> i think he has absolutely been abusing his power. and when you have a president that says regardless of whether congress acts, im going to force my agenda on the american people, thats wrong. >> alex and cath lekathleen thank you for joining us. these remarks are powerful. im wondering what we can point to or he has pointed to that suggests obama who was able to pass review with the supreme court for his most important bit of legislation has abused his power. where is the abuse apparent to mr. cruz? >> thats that new yorker piece that you pointed out, chris, as a great piece of writing. and one of the comparisons that david denby makes is that obama care is his communism. it is the thing that animates everything he says. i think in some way because the president is trying to help the poor, the disenfranchised, ted cruz has flipped that and made it somehow a repression of democracy. the fact that the president was willing to use whatever levers he could to reopen the government and prevent financial catastrophe and ted cruz saw that as an adull administration of executive power. >> i think the presidents been very careful, maybe because hes first african- american president. i think hes been very much tiptoeing around the things you can do around the 14th amendment. i think hes put out statements through jay carney that he would never go that far. that hes been very careful in walking the line that has been walked before in terms of presidential power and opportunities and options. >> well, that may be the case. but the government, in general, the administration and the directives that come down from, by tone or other avenues has been to expand government powers and to take, take some leeway here and there with certain, like for example the irs investigations of tea party people. i mean, i think we are all aware that theres more government overreach than weve experienced before in our personal lives. and i think thats what appeals to ted cruzs, to his constituents. now some of what he -- >> yes, but those people work at -- but kathleen, were talking about the president here. did he appoint those people at irs or did w? >> apparently the president has nothing to do with anything. >> no. >> he pleads ignorance on everything that comes along in the news these days. >> wasnt that a holdover person? you pointed the case of irs. so i have to go at you on this. wasnt the irs, wasnt that a w appointment? >> yes, but to the same extent, in any case, to the -- im playing devils advocate. im defending ted cruz by the way. >> thanks for that definition of your role. >> but we blamed, everybody was quite willing to blame president bush for anything that took place anywhere in the world while he was president. so i think everyone, but the tone and the sense of what is possible comes from leadership and so if people feel like they can go ahead and, you know, wire tap telephones or investigate certain people who are ideologically opposed, then theres a sense that things are not going the way they should. >> can i interject here? i think one of the things that distinguishes, if you can use that word, ted cruz from other folks who may have a healthy skepticism of government overreach is that cruz has a strategy of universal aggression. hes not just attacking president obama. he came out of the government shutdown and blamed senate republicans. people in his own party. ted cruz is not looking to govern. he is looking to tear asunder and kneecap those who are trying to govern. and he certainly has said some outrageous things about the president of the united states. this is someone who voted against confirming the secretary of defense, the secretary of treasury, the secretary of state, who voted against the farm bill and has turned around and manipulated those votes and said the president is abusing his power. its shocking. >> i think its important to note that i went back and read cruzs senior thesis at princeton. he has been concerned about the role of the president way back to his college years. im completely anti- castro. so im with him 100% on castro. i just dont think castro has anything to do with president obama. >> i grew up in cuba under a strong military oppressive dictatorship. i think the most ominous words i have heard were the last when our president said if congress does not act, i will act unilaterally. not much different than that or the trend that i left behind in cuba, governing by decree, by executive order, just like fidel castro. >> and by the way, the last two state of the union addresses he was referring to, he was talking about steps of the federal government to combat climate change. he didnt say he was, he said he was going to use his authority to take action. senator cruz, heres hayes response to the charge that his father was off base and saying that castro and obama are similar in any regard. >> is president obama a dictator? >> the point that he made -- obviously there are enormous differences. >> we have a democracy, political party. >> absolutely. but his point was, he was focussing on a statement president obama made at the state of the union where he said if congress doesnt act to enforce his agenda, that he will do it on his own. >> go ahead. >> thats not fair. you obviously dont read miochol -- my column. its absurd. ive been to cuba. were not like cuba. >> thats what i think. im sorry. i think theres a certain -- >> if you would stop talking, i would say something. im sorry. that was rude of me. its very difficult to say my fathers a complete off the walnut job. but the cruz people are allowing the father to talk and maybe theyre using him a little more than they should. its very problematic for republicans. and this is the key point that i would like to make is that ted cruz is obviously a smart guy. he can talk about these legal issues in ways that none of us can. is he the right voice for the republican party? the answer is no. i dont want to insult the people who elected ted cruz and do think that hes speaking for them. but bottom line, hes speaking for home self. and hes advancing his own candidacy. >> it seems to me that the son here has a very, almost zealous attitude against federal power. its in his writings as a student. its still there. hes big on the tenth amendment, fine. but theres a zel utry that hes got. forget his father for a minute. i think hes got it about obama and any president really. >> and i think hes found a moment in time when theres a sector that feels isolated, that sa economically repressed as much at republican base is. that moment in ted cruzs zealousness. i talked to congressional reporters, and they say the gop is still under the sway of the tea party. and you talk about people looking at 2016 and they say ted cruz is a viable nominee. so i think the jury is still out, and thats an optimistic message. >> i wouldnt judge the character of the candidacy in 2016 by what we see in iowa. i did meet with speaker boehner yesterday for a good while. and in his sense of things, people in the house and the tea party learned a lesson this time. and maybe they have matured a little bit by the process, not all, but enough to give him some optimism about what happens next.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 01:54:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015