September 29, 2015 01:55 PM UTC

Ted Cruz Pushes Too Far; Senate Republicans Push Back

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• by: Colorado Pols

There’s a fascinating story from Politico today about Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, whose efforts to stymie any attempt at governing in order to promote his own Presidential ambitions have finally earned him a rebuke from his colleagues:

Ted Cruz can’t even get a protest vote in the Senate anymore.

On Monday night, Cruz’s colleagues ignored his attempt to disrupt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s efforts to fund the government without attacking Planned Parenthood. In an unusual rebuke, even fellow Republicans denied him a “sufficient second” that would have allowed him a roll call vote.

Then, his Republican colleagues loudly bellowed “no” when Cruz sought a voice vote, a second repudiation that showed how little support Cruz has: Just one other GOP senator — Utah’s Mike Lee — joined with Cruz as he was overruled by McConnell and his deputies…

…In reality, it’s not Senate procedure that stymied Cruz on Monday night. Republicans have grown tired of Cruz pushing proposals that he knows McConnell and other Republicans will never back, like defunding Planned Parenthood in a spending bill, then criticizing McConnell for not taking up the plan even as he uses the fight to bolster his presidential campaign as Washington’s consummate outsider. [Pols emphasis] 

Cruz’s internal criticism of his leadership is what animates his presidential campaign, but his colleagues appear to be no longer listening. Cruz was allowed only to speak for an hour on Monday night under Senate rules, and no one was itching to grant him an exception.

Senate Republicans have finally stopped listening to Ted Cruz — now maybe we can stop listening to him blather about during the next Presidential debate.