Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas seems to have decided that being the leader of the most conservative faction within the Republican congressional caucus is a much better job than merely being an up-and-comer within the caucus as a whole.
Aides to Cruz, a junior senator, are working actively to undermine the work of the House Majority Leader to provide insurance for sick Americans during a six month gap in the implementation of Obamacare.
Cruz has emerged as an influential voice in Washington for the conservative movement, and has claimed the mantle of the Senate's conservative provocateur-in-chief vacated by former Sen. Jim DeMint last fall. In the emails, Cruz Chief of Staff Chip Roy and legislative assistant Alec Aramanda not only slammed the bill but accused Cantor of hypocrisy and questioned his and his supporters fealty to full repeal of Obamacare.
Cantor and his supporters wanted to "create a message in support of funding parts of Obamacare … build upon the misguided notion that pre-existing conditions should be taken care of by government (and thus undermining the very purpose of getting insurance) and create a 'win' that only wonks on list-serves [sic] in DC get excited about," Roy wrote in one email.
