Speaking for the second time since his 21-hour stand against Obamacare on Tuesday, Republican Senator Ted Cruz told reporters Thursday that any Senator who listens to his or constituents will vote to defund Obamacare tomorrow.
"A significant number of Republican senators and Democratic senators are not listening to the people and if we have accomplished anything this week, I hope we have made significant progress in changing that culture and helping bring Senators back to the reason we are here which is to listen to our constituents and to fight for our constituents. If we do so, we will stand united against Obamacare because it is hurting millions of Americans," Cruz said.
According to Cruz, if 41 Republicans vote against cloture tomorrow, debate on the bill will continue past Friday and shift the focus and pressure to Democrats. There are seven Democratic seats up for re-election in 2014 in red states.
"First, we have to unite Republicans. The second thing we have to do is start picking off Democrats," Cruz said. "None of those red state Democrats are going flip so long as Republicans are divided."
During his filibuster style speech on Tuesday, Cruz read stories from real people dealing with Obamacare in the real world. He repeatedly noted the problems: small businesses are not expanding, people are losing their jobs, people are being forcibly forced into part-time work and millions of people are losing their healthcare or facing skyrocketing healthcare premiums.
"Ultimately every senator is going to have to decide where he or she stands," Cruz said. "Every Senate Republican ran on fighting Obamacare."
In the case that voting against cloture fails, Cruz is encouraging the House of Representatives to stand their ground.
"If Republicans stand with Harry Reid instead of standing with conservatives, then Harry Reid can fund Obamacare," Cruz said.
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