Ezra Klein: If Ted Cruz didn’t exist, Democrats would have to invent him

[highplainsdem]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/10/16/if-ted-cruz-didnt-exist-democrats-would-have-to-invent-him/

A true cynic about American politics would, at this point, be forced to one conclusion: Sen. Ted Cruz is a Democratic sleeper agent.

It is tough to appreciate just how much good Ted Cruz has done the Democrats over these last few weeks.

- He convinced Republicans to shut down the government rather than wait and fight over the debt ceiling, where they would have had more -- and more dangerous -- leverage.

- He splintered the Republican Party such that, from day one, it was clear that the GOP leadership opposed the strategy they were executing, and GOP senators were publicly blasting House Republicans. That also cut the GOP's leverage.

-snip-

But the strategy Ted Cruz managed to force on the GOP was so suicidal that Democrats felt comfortable forcing Republicans to cave completely. They were so confident that they managed to reject a deal proposed by Sen. Susan Collins and supported by many Senate Democrats because it funded the government for longer than the Democratic leadership preferred. That's a level of control over the outcome that Democrats never expected to have.

Going forward, not only will Republicans be afraid to shut down the government or threaten the debt ceiling again during this Congress, but if Republicans somehow end up doing it anyway, Democrats will be unafraid of the fight. As Democrats see it, if Republicans want to give a shutdown or a default another shot closer to the 2014 election, well, that's great news for Democratic congressional candidates.

Over the last 24 hours I've seen some Republicans complaining that President Obama and the Democrats are trying to break them. Their anger is misplaced. They should be angry at Ted Cruz for putting Republicans in a position to be broken.

[stevenleser]

1. Disagree. Either tactic would have been/is suicidal.

- He convinced Republicans to shut down the government rather than wait and fight over the debt ceiling, where they would have had more -- and more dangerous -- leverage.

Waiting and fighting over the debt ceiling is not a better tactic. Threatening to destroy ones own economy and currency is not a good tactic.

[magical thyme]

8. but shutting down the government dragged the whole thing out for weeks

giving ample time for a full-on display of Tea Party insanity, and ample time for people immersed in their daily lives to wake up for a moment and say And ample time for the potential devastation they were threatening us with to sink in.

I'm thinking of writing Cruz a thank you note. When people ask why I'm estranged from my family, no more boring them with lengthy descriptions of psycho-bizarre behavior intent on destroying everything they touch. All I'll need do is say, "tea partiers." Instant understanding and we can move on...

[Tom Ripley]

2. But would we have made him look like Joseph McCarthy made up for the Joel Grey role...

in a community theatre production of Cabaret?

That's what comes to mind every time I see him.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

3. "Sen. Ted Cruz is a Democratic sleeper agent"

That is super funny

[lostincalifornia]

4. Ezra Klein is full of himself. Has he been ignoring the republicans for the last two decades?

They didn't need cruz, they had the republicans themselves

[Vietnameravet]

5. A round of applause and a hearty "thanks" to Terd Cruz!

[flamingdem]

6. I'm pretty sure that Fidel Castro has something to do with the sleeper agent

we have in Ted Cruz. He is Cuban after all, so we can thank Fidel!

[phantom power]

7. Ted Cruz *is* a Democratic invention. We spent 30 years inventing him.

For 30 years the Right pushed the envelope, and pushed and pushed. And the Democrats compromised. Cruz was inevitable.

[leftynyc]

9. Thanks to cruz

The colossally bad rollout for the ACA isn't even on the front pages. They could have made such hay out of this if they hadn't followed this clown off the cliff.

[SamYeager]

10. Klein is WRONG!

If Ted Cruz didn't exist the Democrats COULDN'T invent him because nobody would ever believe somebody that crazy could ever be elected to the Senate.

[jsr]

11. Bingo!

[LondonReign2]

12. Yes indeed

For once Democrats didn't piss away the winning hand that the crazies dealt them.

Let's hope President Obama and subsequent Democratic leaders have finally learned this lesson.