But here comes Sen. Ted Cruz, that rascal, indirectly telling McConnell and McCain where they can stick their advice. State of the Union interviewer Dana Bash asked the freshman Texas lawmaker whether he's bothered by the friction with the Republican party. "Not remotely, because... I work for 26 million Texans. That’s my job to fight for them," Cruz said. "I don’t work for the party bosses in Washington. I work for the people of Texas and I fight for them." Cruz implied some of his colleagues aren't being honest about their views while news cameras are rolling: "You know what was very interesting about some of those closed-door discussions? What I said in those closed-door discussions, I would’ve said the exact same thing if CNN's camera was sitting in the room. What I say privately to my colleagues is the same thing I say publicly," he said. "And you know what’s interesting? Virtually every person in that room, that was criticizing what Mike Lee and I were doing, would’ve said very different things if a camera was in this room. Because what they’re telling their constituents is very different from what they’re saying behind closed doors," he added. Later he said he wouldn't "play that game," of exchanging insults with fellow Republicans.

On Fox News Sunday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who voted with the Tea Party against reopening the government and raising the debt limit, affirmed his support for established Republican leadership. "I do support Sen. McConnell's bid for reelection," Rubio said on Fox News Sunday. "I think he's trying to lead our conference. It's a diverse conference with a lot of different opinions. That's a tough job to begin with. And of course, he's got to represent his own state." Tomorrow, Rubio will attempt to have his cake and eat it too.

House Minority leader Nancy Pelosi criticized the Obamacare roll out during her appearance on ABC's This Week, but said she's confident it'll succeed in the end. "As far as the Affordable Care Act as I call it, the fact is that, yes, what has happened is unacceptable in terms of the glitches," the former Speaker said. "They were overwhelmed to begin with. There is much that needs to be done to correct the situation." Pelosi said the high traffic, despite the glitches, suggests once things start running smoothly then the law will eventually become a success. "This has to be fixed but what doesn't have to be fixed is the fact that tens of millions more people will have access to affordable quality health care," she said.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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