

Gun Control:

Was Harry Reid right to Reject It?

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says his biggest surprise since coming to Washington is the “defeatist attitude” among his fellow Republicans, many of whom feel “beaten down.”“The biggest surprise has been the defeatist attitude of many Republicans in Washington,” Cruz said in an interview Sunday with the Dallas Morning News . “A lot of Republicans felt beaten down, and that there was nothing they could do to stop the erosion of liberty in this country.”Cruz, a tea party favorite, told the Morning News he was “referring to those who have been here a long time and have suffered some difficult election results and who I think were discouraged about being able to get anything done.”Yet he remains optimistic and notes that Republicans are beginning to stick together on tough votes.“I have been encouraged that the last several weeks have demonstrated that there is a great deal we can do to turn things around,” he told the newspaper. “Indeed, if you look at the vote on sequester, the filibuster on drone strikes, and the vote on defunding Obamacare, for three weeks in a row Republicans have stood together for principle.”The Texan said his most inspirational moment since becoming a senator was Republican Sen. Rand Paul’s filibuster, when the Kentuckian held the Senate floor for 13 hours.“It captivated the attention of the American people as millions of Americans watched Rand Paul and others standing for principle and began engaging directly in the process, on Facebook and email and Twitter,” Cruz said. “As a result of Sen. Rand Paul’s courage, the Obama administration was forced to concede in writing that it lacks the authority to kill a U.S. citizen on U.S. soil.”Cruz said he must be doing something right since coming to office. “The New York Times has already spilled barrels of ink attacking the conservative principles I’m fighting to defend. It seems to me if the New York Times is this hysterical already, it may be a sign that perhaps we’re doing something right.”