Americans who are fed up with Obamacare won a victory yesterday. The House voted to defund Obamacare while still funding the federal government to avoid a “devastating” shutdown. (I shall not digress, but it’s beyond distressing to hear liberals try to convince Americans that any government slowdown is comparable to “terrorism.”)

Now the battle goes to the Senate, and we’ll find out if Harry Reid is so committed to the horrendous “Un-affordable Care Act” that he’ll be the one to shut down the government to fund the unworkable Obamacare.

Let’s be clear. Republicans in Congress aren’t advocating a government shutdown. That’s why they voted in the House to fully fund our bureaucracy while defunding Obamacare. The conservatives in Congress are listening to the majority of Americans who do not want Obamacare.

Following the will of the people is apparently a novel idea in D.C. these days. Just ask Senator Ted Cruz and his liberty-loving posse on Capitol Hill who have led the charge to defund Obama’s train wreck.

Those of us who hang in there supporting a major political party with our energy, time, and contributions would like to believe that that party would praise principled conservatives like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee for following through on campaign promises. We’d like to believe that the GOP establishment would applaud the way these bold leaders have rallied the grassroots to their cause. But, no, such praise would require a commensurate level of guts and leadership, and the permanent political class in D.C. is nothing if not gutless and rudderless.

We’re now, once again, subjected to the “anonymous sources” backstabbing game. The Capitol Hill cowards are rushing to anonymously denounce Senator Cruz to any reporter with a pad and pen.

Welcome to our world, Ted. The same people have been denouncing conservatives like me for years (right after they ask for help fundraising for themselves or endorsing the latest candidate they’ve suckered into paying their exorbitant consulting fees). We can compare shiv marks next time we meet, my friend.

If the Senate doesn’t get behind Ted Cruz’s efforts to defund Obamacare, it won’t be because of any failure on Ted’s part. It’ll be because there weren’t enough principled leaders to stand with him, and that would be a tragic loss, not for Ted, but for America.

More and more Americans are waking up to the nightmare of Obamacare as its rollout continues. Hardworking families are losing their employer-provided health care coverage. Businesses are cutting back their employees’ hours to skirt Obamacare’s mandates. Americans barely scrapping by are discovering that Obamacare has made health care completely unaffordable. Those who aren’t part of a protected special interest group have been left in the cold.

When you’re living on a fixed income, having to pay hundreds of dollars more each month for health care will cut into your ability to pay for basic necessities like food, electricity, or gas (which has increased 90% under Obama). Open your eyes, America. When the full reality of Obamacare strikes home, we’ll thank God that principled leaders like Ted Cruz and Mike Lee took a stand to stop it in its tracks.

But the permanent political class is handwringing and howling that if there’s a government shutdown the media will blame Republicans for it. Here’s a little newsflash, GOP establishment: Whenever anything bad happens, the media blames Republicans for it. That’s not an excuse to roll over and play dead. It’s a call to follow the advice I give my daughters: Woman up, stand your ground, and fight like a girl!

I want no pity. I need no empathy. But use me as a barometer. Over the years, the leftwing media has falsely and irrationally accused me of everything from faking a pregnancy to abetting murder. They lie. Deal with it.

Republicans in Congress support funding the government. If the Democrats block these funding measures, a government shutdown is on them. In the meantime, stop the ridiculous hysterics. Heck, about the most significant thing that happened during the last government shutdown was Clinton hooked up with Monica.

As I said in my speech at CPAC this year, it’s time for the Senate to put itself on Cruz Control.

Ignore the peanut gallery pundits. They’ve written my political obituary so many times, I’m practically Lazarus. Now they’re trying to destroy Ted Cruz. Good luck with that, you weasels. Texans are just as tough as Alaskans. Smaller, but just as tough.

But here’s the important thing that none of these establishment backstabbers understand. It’s not the messenger that matters. It’s the message. You can try to take out someone like Ted Cruz, but that won’t stop the message from catching fire. The message is liberty, and it’s been resounding ever since a band of patriots dumped tea in Boston harbor.

The message only grows stronger. The grassroots is bigger than any one person. We the People will rise up, and we will make our voices heard. Right now, Ted Cruz is speaking for us in this Obamacare fight. God bless him for it.

Hang in there, Ted and Mike. You have millions of supporters among ordinary hardworking Americans. We support you because you don’t shy away from the fray. May your colleagues in the Senate gain the wisdom to support your excellent efforts so that you can see that the view is better from inside the bus than under it.

Oh, and a little reminder to Republican senators up for re-election in 2014: Moose season ends soon, allowing more time on one’s hands. So, we’ll be watching your votes very carefully this week.