Ted Cruz, not quite as crazy as Michele Bachmann.
No, the Senate won't be repealing Obamacare. And yes, there was another vote to repeal Obamacare.
This one came from Sen. Ted Cruz as an amendment to the budget bill for 2014. It failed 45-54. Sounding slightly less hyperbolic than his counterpart for crazy in the House, Michele Bachmann, Cruz railed against the ills of the law.
“ObamaCare was passed with many promises, and in reality, it has not delivered,” Cruz said ahead of the vote. “ObamaCare is hurting young people, it’s hurting seniors, it’s hurting Hispanics, it’s hurting African-Americans, it’s hurting the economy and it should be repealed."
How is it hurting all those people? Who knows. That's immaterial. Ted Cruz doesn't need evidence. He's Ted Cruz.
For those counting, Sen. Tom Harkin says this was the 36th vote on repeal in Congress. Other counts say it's the 39th. Either way, it's just a tad bit excessive, particularly since it's never going to happen.
Last July, a CBS report determined that the House has spent 80 hours on futile Obamacare repeal efforts. That was at about the 32nd vote. Those 80 hours of wasted time worked out to be about $50 million in taxpayer money, the funds spent to keep the House operating. That doesn't even count the time the Senate has spent on this idiocy.
The conclusion is clear: Republicans in Congress are increasing the deficit!