Today’s Morning Jolt features a lot of thoughts inspired by yesterday’s “Future of Conservatism” panel discussion put on by the Future 500 at the National Press Club, but the even bigger joys of the morning are Ted Cruz’s endurance and Bill Clinton’s boredom:
We Feel That Way Too, President Clinton.
Do you think Bill Clinton was bored listening to President Obama talk about Obamacare yesterday at the Clinton Global Initiative?
Ted Cruz Is Still Talking!
Go, Ted, go! Love him, hate him, doubt his strategy, embrace his strategy, you have to admire how he’s going the distance for what he believes in:
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has officially pulled an all-nighter in the U.S. Senate as he advocated for the defunding of Obamacare into the wee hours of Wednesday morning. Wearing black tennis shoes for comfort, the Texas senator started speaking at 2:41 p.m. on Tuesday and has continued for over 16 hours as of 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.
“I will say standing here after 14 hours, standing on your feet, there’s sometimes some pain, sometimes some fatigue that is involved,” Cruz said on the Senate floor. “But you know what? There’s far more pain involved in rolling over…far more pain in hiding in the shadows, far more pain in not standing for principle, not standing for the good, not standing for integrity.”
Senate rules require Cruz to stand throughout his speech but allow him to yield to questions from other senators. Several Republican senators, including Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., helped Cruz with his speech at various points throughout the night. Even Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., chimed in with questions for the Texas senator.
Around 3:33 a.m. Wednesday, Cruz beat the record for the longest speech this year, a record previously held by Paul, who filibustered the nomination of John Brennan as CIA director for 12 hours and 52 minutes last March.