The GOP Rep. Who Already Has a Campaign Against Ted Cruz 'Ready to Go' for Looming Budget Fight

As the Dec. 13 deadline to pass a budget approaches, there has been speculation that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is leaving all options on the table in his effort to defund Obamacare. In in the lead up to negotiations, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) already has a campaign against Cruz "ready to go," the Atlantic reports.

King reportedly shared some of his anti-Cruz slogans with Politico: "Ted Cruz cost the economy $24 billion," and "Ted Cruz forced the Republican Party to its lowest levels ever and in that period, made Obamacare popular."

FILE - In this Sept. 26, 2013, file photo, Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. talks on his phone as he walks to a Republican caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File

"We have to be more outspoken upfront," King told Politico.

Other establishment Republicans, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and Patrick Meehan (R-Pa.), have also indicated they are ready to oppose Cruz if he suggests another government shutdown to defund Obamacare.

"I can assure you that the next time around, people are going to have their eyes wide open. I believe there will be a lot of folks speaking up. Aggressively, in fact," Dent said.

More from Politico:

“We’re probably going to do more to talk to ourselves to try to be a little bit more unified and to put some thought into where we think we ought to be,” Meehan said. “I think people appreciate that when you eliminate yourself from negotiations, you’re operating from a position of weakness.”

[...]

Expectations across Capitol Hill are low for the budget conference, and lawmakers sitting on the bicameral panel are mostly focused on coming up with a result for the current fiscal year — rather than the ever-elusive grand bargain.

“I’m hoping that lessons have been learned,” Dent said of a shutdown threat. “Again, there’s really no wisdom gained by the second kick of the mule here.”

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