The 10 best insults Republicans hurled at Ted Cruz this week

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last updated 8 January 2015

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has become something of a piñata for two groups of congressional Republicans: Those who eagerly support his exhortation to strip all funding for ObamaCare, and those who think risking a government shutdown over an ill-fated ObamaCare-defunding measure is daft politics.

It's pretty obvious why the second group would be annoyed with Cruz, who has been goading the House GOP to go all-in on the defunding plan for months, including through Cruz-branded TV ads (watch below). The first group is miffed because, when the House agreed to go along with Cruz's high-stakes defund-or-bust plan this week, Cruz issued this statement:

Today's announcement that the House will vote to defund Obamacare is terrific news.... We commend House leadership and House Republicans for listening to the people and for taking decisive action to stop Obamacare, the biggest job-killer in America. Harry Reid will no doubt try to strip the defund language from the continuing resolution, and right now he likely has the votes to do so. At that point, House Republicans must stand firm, hold their ground, and continue to listen to the American people. [Cruz]

This was seen by House Republicans, rightly or wrongly, as Cruz conceding that his own plan — get the GOP-led House to include defunding ObamaCare in the must-pass federal spending bill, then fight like hell to get the Senate on board, propelled by a "tsunami" of grassroots outrage — is doomed, and probably always was. They didn't appreciate the pep talk/kiss-off, and they let him know it, through social and news media.

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"For weeks, House Republicans have said the prospects of passing a defund bill in the Senate are grim, and Senators Lee, Cruz, and Rubio have responded by saying nothing is impossible if we fight hard enough. Now they are getting exactly what they asked for, and they issue a press release conceding defeat and refusing to join the fight they demanded in every TV appearance. It's time they put their money where their mouths are, and do something other than talk."— House GOP leadership aide (National Review)

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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