Filibuster the House CR? Cruz, Other Conservatives Say ‘Yes’

◼ Sen. Ted Cruz said Friday that Republican senators should, in effect, filibuster the House-passed continuing resolution in the Senate. - CQ RollCall

The Texas Republican is calling on his colleagues to oppose limiting debate on it, warning against what he calls procedural trickery.

“Step two is the Senate, where all accounts suggest Harry Reid plans to use procedural gimmicks to try to add funding back in for Obamacare,” Cruz said. “If Reid pursues this plan — if he insists on using a 50-vote threshold to fund Obamacare with a partisan vote of only Democrats — then I hope that every Senate Republican will stand together and oppose cloture on the bill in order to keep the House bill intact and not let Harry Reid add Obamacare funding back in.”

“Now is a time for party unity; Senate Republicans should stand side-by-side with courageous House Republicans,” Cruz said.

...Of course, if GOP senators actually follow Cruz and Hoskins’ advice, they will, in effect, be voting against a bill that includes Obamacare defunding. The vote to strike that language is not expected until after cloture is invoked, and it will take only 51 votes to succeed. That’s why Cruz may ultimately be proved correct when he says Democrats have the votes to send the measure back to the House, without Obamacare funding.