Cruz’s faux filibuster opens door for larger conversation

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is well-versed in faux filibusters, said Ted Cruz's efforts on the Senate floor to defund Obamacare can shed light on the “fundamental debate about where we want to go in America.”

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont says he doesn’t believe Sen. Ted Cruz’s twenty-plus hour faux-filibuster against the health care law will have any impact. Cruz’s very long speech, however, can shed light on the “fundamental debate about where we want to go in America,” said Sanders.

“What Mr. Cruz and his Republican friends think in terms of healthcare is that we should voucherize Medicare, make massive cuts in Medicaid, and ignore the fact that 48 million Americans have no health insurance at all,” Sanders said on Jansing & Co. Wednesday.

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Sanders said that the Republican efforts to defund President Obama’s signature legislation would only be the beginning. “Getting rid of Obamacare is nickels and dimes. See what they have to say about getting rid of Medicare as we know it. Massive cuts in Medicaid. How do people live if we get rid of Social Security in this country?”

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The Vermont senator is well-versed in faux filibusters as he spoke for 8 hours and 37 minutes in 2010 against the extension of Bush-era tax rates. Sanders did give Cruz credit where it was due though.

“Cruz has gone on a lot longer than I did, and I appreciate very much his ability to stay away from the bathroom,” Sanders said. “That’s not easy.”