C. Edmund Wright, American Thinker

Inside Washington, the Republican establishment — and everyone else in the beltway to Manhattan media bubble for that matter — is still obsessed with the few days of shutdown late last year. They are all convinced that it did great damage to the Republican Party, and moreover, will do so in every instance the government is shuttered in perpetuity. It’s our elitists’ first grade equation: shutdown = Republican disaster, period. John Boehner can’t think past it, and neither can Mitch McConnell, Karl Rove, Bret Baier, Brit Hume — or apparently anyone else in either the 202 or 212 area codes not named Ted Cruz. …

Yet outside of glares given at Washington cocktail parties by reporters, there is no evidence this is the case. Not even a smidgen. In fact, there is considerable evidence to the contrary. You might remember the 2014 midterms? …. Nonetheless, the power elites remain convinced they are right even though they could not possibly be more wrong. This arrogance/ignorance combination is driven largely by one factor: total isolation from the rest of the country by almost everyone involved in taxing, regulating, and legislating us as well as those who comment on them for a living. None of them know anything about us. …

Actually, many in the real world welcomed the shutdown — and/or realized that there was really no shutdown at all. The only PR damage was that done to the liberal Democrat idea of a bureaucratic state of totalitarianism, as videos of government union thugs going wild went viral. Only perhaps the ‘Gruber stupidity voters’ — not to mention the stupidity media and the stupidity GOP establishment types — are still hung up on the shutdown. …

Cruz remains steadfast in his convictions. In an interview a couple months after the filibuster, Cruz said “I have a difference of opinion on how Republicans win. Some in the Washington establishment think Republicans win elections by keeping their heads down and not rocking the boat — not making any waves — and hoping we win in November. I think the way we win is by taking a stand for principle.” And indeed history is on his side. Rocking the boat and standing for principle worked pretty well in the American Revolution, and also in 1980, 84, 94, and 2010. Playing it safe was an exploding cigar in 1992, 96, 2008 and 2012. And standing for principle is also the right thing to do.

Concerning the 2014 midterms, ObamaCare was the number one issue on the minds of voters, who seemed more capable of understanding that ObamaCare is the jobs issue, is the issue of the economy, is the issue of debt, and is exhibit A in the arrogance and totalitarian reality that is the left’s vision of governance.

SEE COMPLETE TEXT

  LIFE, Time to take a look at recent American political history and give Ted Cruz credit, WorldTribune.com