Credit: AP
His first year in the Senate was a tumultuous one but Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has been tamed, according to Politico:
In an olive branch to his colleagues, Cruz privately assured them he wouldn’t raise money for a conservative group attacking GOP senators. And he even allowed the Senate to leave early for its Martin Luther King Jr. Day recess by dropping demands for what would have been a futile attempt to gut Obamacare.It’s a sharp departure from his high-profile battles with his party last year over whether to confirm Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon, launch House-Senate budget negotiations and fund the government if Obamacare moved forward. And it’s a sign that Cruz — who has cast himself as an outsider battling the party establishment — is starting to develop an inside game in the clubby Senate, where relationships are important. ...
For instance, Cruz was not afraid to commandeer the Senate floor often last year, directing pointed rhetoric at his colleagues, including during a 21-hour floor speech in September over Obamacare. But since the government reopened in mid-October, Cruz has spoken on the floor just three times. And behind closed doors, where GOP senators used to gripe that Cruz would lecture and talk down to them, he is now more reserved and speaks less frequently, according to many of his colleagues. ...
These days, many senators see Cruz’s more-nuanced approach and friendly demeanor as an implicit acknowledgement by the Texas freshman that he needs to recalibrate his style in order to avoid being a permanent outcast. GOP senators lunch together virtually every full day when Congress is in session — so it’s better to be on friendly terms with fellow dining companions.
“I think from a stylistic standpoint," Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) told Politico, "he probably realizes that in order to get accomplishments here in the Congress, you have to reach out to people on both sides and see if you can get them on your side when it comes to a particular issue."
