After Sen. Ted Cruz specifically has been accused of taking the push one step too far, Sens. Lee, Rubio, and Cruz all took to the Senate floor on Wednesday morning for a speaking session on exactly why it is that they are undertaking the endeavor to defund ObamaCare. (I might add that, as much heat as Rubio’s been taking for other things lately, I’ve often appreciated his ability to talk an amazingly simple, articulate, and persuasive game on the buoying effect of free markets for the middle class, totally off the cuff, and his speaking slot starting at about 8:50 puts the economically damaging brand of liberal populism President Obama has been peddling lately to shame.)

Republicans are definitely split on whether the tactics of threatening a government shutdown without defunding Obamacare is really a smart tactical move, and goodness knows the media is ever-eager to jump on Republicans ‘infighting,’ but according to Daily Beast editor Tina Brown on MSNBC this morning, Mr. Cruz’s long game is pretty much downright Congressional terrorism. Via Mediaite:

“Have you seen what Ted Cruz is doing?” Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough said Wednesday morning. “Ted Cruz is attacking anybody who’s not willing to shut down the government over the government over Obamacare. He’s lambasting fellow conservatives like Tom Coburn—Tom Coburn!—and saying that he serves in the surrender caucus.” … “Jon Favreau’s written a great piece in the Daily Beast about this whole trend now about not the small government conservative, but the no government conservative,” said Tina Brown, editor of the Daily Beast. “That is what Tom Cruz is a member of. This is the Taliban.”

Yes, those floor speeches this morning certainly were quite Taliban-ish, wouldn’t you say? And speaking of that Jon Favreau piece — Michael Walsh had some words about his inimicable burning of the newfound “no-government conservative” straw man over at National Review. Do it.