Cruz talks about 'vindication' with rocky Obamacare rollout
(CNN) - Sen. Ted Cruz argued Thursday that people are starting to understand why he and other conservative activists embraced a strategy that tried to derail Obamacare this year but instead resulted in last month's government shutdown.
Speaking at the Aspen Institute's Washington Ideas Forum in Washington, the Texas Republican said the troubled rollout of HealthCare.gov and revelations of people losing their health care insurance have led to changed feelings about his strategy.
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"A few weeks ago there were lots of people - particularly in Washington - that were saying, 'Why are you guys fighting so hard on this?' And with just the passage of a few weeks, people aren't asking that anymore," he said.
Related: Obama offers fix for canceled plans
Cruz added that those who joined him in the effort are feeling "vindication" in the wake of a barrage of negative headlines about the botched Obamcare rollout.
"We've seen that those millions of Americans were right, and I wish Congress had listened to them before" people began getting cancellation notices, he said.
Asked if the shutdown was worth it, Cruz said, "Absolutely."
Among those who are changing their tune, he said, are some of the same congressional Democrats who refused to compromise on Obamacare earlier this year.
"In the last few weeks over a dozen Democrats have publicly called for delaying Obamacare in significant respects," he said, referring to some vulnerable Democrats up for re-election who want the administration to push back the deadline for enrolling in health care insurance because of the turbulent launch.
The reason they didn't support delaying parts of Obamacare earlier, Cruz said, was because "it was a simple, partisan, political decision by the White House" to let the government shut down.
"I remember in the middle of the shutdown the president invited the Republican senators to the White House. We all sat there in a room and he came out and said, 'I'm here to tell you I will not negotiate. I will not compromise on anything.' That's not a reasonable position," Cruz said.
"That's why we had a shutdown. Because the White House believed, politically, it benefited them to shut down the government."
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Please run for President Cruz. There is one thing Americans hate more than Obamacare, and that is the Tea People
"I looked for the article on Cruz's comments on why we should have to delay Obamacare and I have yet to find one where he states that we should delay Obamacare because the website wasn't ready. Can anyone help me find one?"
Doesn't exist. But that's ok...CNN is going to help the GOP/Teatrolls perpetuate and sell this controversy until the cows come home and you can rest assured they will be as sloppy as possible in order to maximize the misinformation and wrong impressions people have in order to keep it all hyped and hysterical as long as possible.
just saying
ted cruz and all of the republicans were right and have been telling the truth to the american people.
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So the Sarah Palin "Death Panels" ARE real? Congress IS exempt from the ACA? The IRS really will be administering our healthcare? You, sir have no clue what is real and what isn't.
Cruz is delusional if he thinks he was right in shutting down the gov't over the ACA. Health Insurers have been raisng their prices on policies for the last 15 years, and will continue to do so if the TEA party has their way. The trainwreck he should be warning Americans about is that if the Health Industry does not cut cost for healthcare we ALL lose in the end.....
freedom
The government shut down because :
"We all sat there in a room and he (Obama) came out and said, 'I'm here to tell you I will not negotiate." And now look where he – and the American people are – because of the law he wouldn't negotiate about. Obama and the democrats own the shutdown – and the debacle of Obamacare. period.
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Spin, spin, spin. The GOP ran in 2012 on shutting down the government- real-live campaign promises. Sorry, bud, just because Obama told the lunatics of the Right "no negotiations" doesn't mean the Right didn't shut down the government or vote to crash the economy. It is reasoning like yours that makes rational people think the GOP is insane.
-just saying
ted cruz and all of the republicans were right and have been telling the truth to the american people.
obama and the democrats were wrong and have been lying over and over to the american people.
it really is as simple as that. continue to back and vote for the democrat party of lies and decit and you will have obamacare after obamacare after obamacare type laws wreck every part of our economy. you see, they actually do believe they know better how to do everything and run every aspect of your life.
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This coming from teh party that has demanded women get a sonnogram before being able to decide if they will keep the baby? Please, the GOP regulates lives with even more fervor than the Democrats, and they do so with a Bible in one hand and a gun in the other. You people had every opportunity to address problems with access to health insurance, and chose to do nothing: ask youself, why is that? Or is actually tackling something that does not involve a tax cut for the wealthy not worthy of your time?
Recent Republican polls show Cruz at 7% in the 2016 Republican Presidential race. Yet CNN never tires of enabling this buffoon. But since CNN is part of the Corporate Media System in the USA that runs on advertising and provides a so called free press, they are always very careful not to anger large advertisers. Big Oil is one of the biggest. Since Sen. Cruz is from Texas which means he is owned by Big Oil, CNN will never look critically at Big Oil's boy.
Just go away, idiot. Sad thug of GOP.
Ted Cruz / Sarah Palin 2016
True Americans with a Vision ?
LOL. LOL. LOL That has to be the funnest thing I've seen in awhile..
It's obvious Ted Cruz doesn't know much about 50 state health insurance laws and minimum benefit mandates. He'd love for all of you to have expensive individual plans to boost the bottom line of insurance companies and by the way those plans would pay little of your medical bills. Oh, don't forget, he is on his wife's top notch health insurance plan with her Wall Street employer.
Thomas
Ted Cruz / Sarah Palin 2016
True Americans with a Vision ?
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A vision of Putin from the backyard
Between BO and TC, I think TC is the least popular in the US – and (LOL) at this time, that's saying something.
As much as the MSM hates to admit it – Cruz was right.
Has anyone ever heard Ted Cruz utter a word or give any indication of his beliefs on policy for the country other than , defund and repeal the ACA ? He must ascribe to republican domestic and foreign policy and Paul Ryans proposed budget . You know , the budget that turnsSS into an investment scheme money maker for the banks , turns Medicare into a weak "voucher" system that never increases in value and eventually will be worthless , cuts any welfare to the bare bones , cuts medicade , cuts taxes on the wealthy , increase the military budget . Of course , Raphael Cruz , Teds daddy , says the US is a Christian nation and it should be declared the national religion , social justice is a cancer , gay rights a conspiracy , women are inferior to men in spiritual matters , there is a worldwide UN dictatorship brewing and worldwide wealth redistribution , Obama is a God hating , Marxist Kenyan and the US needs to be ruled by a fundamentalist evangelical like him or his son . He campaigns for Ted . I wonder what Ted really believes . He's never said , you know ?
Cruz told the truth, and is called a Terrorist. Obama repeatedly, knowingly, lied...and we call him President.
@Thomas
Ted Cruz / Sarah Palin 2016
Yes – please tell me this is the ticket next time around! Make all liberal and comedian's dreams come true. Let all the loonies out at once.
Lynda/Minnesota, you said you could no longer support CNN after Jake Tapper's interview with Sarah Palin. Not true to your word. Sarah Palin and Ted Cruz were mocked repeatedly for apposing Obamacare. We now see they were both right .
The Libs own the government shutdown and the Iraq War !
Nice try , Obama , were way ahead of you !
Ted Cruz / Sarah Palin 2016
We have the ideas and the answers !
Wow, even the flaming leftists on Bloomberg TV were ragging on Obamacare this morning. Don't look good for the President.