Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has a history of pushing back against GOP leadership and arguing that too many Republicans in Congress are “election conservatives.”

Earlier this week, Cruz appeared on Hannity to discuss a new Fox poll that has him as third in the GOP presidential race (behind Trump and Carson), and during the course of the interview, he noted that the GOP establishment “looks down on the voters who elected” them.

Watch:





In today’s Meet the Press interview, Cruz states that he believes that GOP leaders in Congress are “effective Democrat leaders.” NBC reports:

In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Cruz said Republican leaders, especially in the Senate, are “making it easier for Barack Obama and [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid to add trillions in debt.” “The truth of the matter is Republican leadership are the most effective Democrat leaders we’ve ever seen. They’ve passed more Democratic priorities than Harry Reid ever could,” Cruz said. But even after House Speaker John Boehner announced he would relinquish his position and retire from Congress, Cruz would not go so far as to call for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to step down.

During the course of the interview, Cruz provides an example of the disparity between voters’ priorities and those of the GOP suggesting that if you ask Republican voters for their top twenty priorities and compare that with GOP leadership priorities, you’d find that eighteen of the voters’ priorities are not on the GOP leadership list. Then he suggests looking at the top twenty Democrat leadership priorities, and you’ll find that eighteen do match those of GOP leadership. I’m sure the eighteen is just an example, but he makes his point.

Here’s the interview (via NBC):



