Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday that Republicans are "terrified" to fight Obamacare and the healthcare plan won't be derailed unless they stand together.
"I think there is a powerful defeatist approach among Republicans in Washington," the Texas Republican told conservative radio talk show host Dana Loesch,
The Huffington Post reports. "I think they're beaten down and convinced we can't give a fight. And they're terrified."
Cruz, in his appearance on "The Dana Show," said Republicans have one last chance to derail Obamacare.
"Everyone of those Republicans who say, 'Let's not fight on the continuing resolution,' what they're really saying is, 'We should surrender to Obamacare being a permanent feature of our economy,'" Cruz said.
Not all Republicans are giving up on the fight. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and other Republicans have been circulating a pledge to oppose any budget bill that provides funding for the healthcare law — a threat to shut down the federal government unless Obamacare is stopped.
Cruz has signed the pledge but not all Republicans will join in the fight. Already, Republican Sen. Richard Burr called a shutdown over Obamacare
"the dumbest idea I have ever heard of."
But, Cruz said, it's important for Republicans to stand together on the issue.
"If the only way to win is to persuade others in the Republican cloakroom, it ain't going to happen, because too many Republicans are scared of this fight," Cruz said. "The only way to win this fight is if the American people get engaged by the millions."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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