Tea Party Starfish
by digby
Dave Weigel makes an important observation about Cruz's alleged last minute Obamacare "end run" pointing out that it was signaled by the grassroots many months ago. He writes:
Absolutely, some House Republicans now go on the record blaming Cruz for their predicament. But that doesn't mean they're right, any more than the occasional angry moderate was right in 2011 when he said Grover Norquist (insert sound of cackle, bat wings) and his Taxpayer Protection Pledge was the reason Republicans found it impossible to agree to tax hikes.
Hey, it's useful for moderates and the press to pretend these movements run top-down, or pretend they're small. I have no clue why so many people have adopted the meme that "30 or so" Republican congressmen are holding the party hostage. Why do the party's defund/delay bills keep getting 200+ votes? Here's why: The conservative movement, the Tea Party especially, aspires to work like a "starfish" that survives even if a leg is cut off, instead of a "spider" that dies after losing a limb. This has never been a secret, but the press sure treats it like one.
Fact. These "moderates" (if you can call hard right conservatives who simply aren't as batshit as Michele Bachman moderate) do have agency. They can blame Ted Cruz all they want, but he's a feature not a bug.
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