One thing’s for sure: Don’t expect a repeat of their 2013 alliance. An aide to Paul said that if Cruz launches another crusade against Obamacare next year, Paul will want little to do with it.
“He won’t be in the middle of that fight,” the Paul aide told me last week. “I don’t think he’s going to get all wrapped around the axle. He’s supportive of the idea of repealing Obamacare, but he’s not going to be the tip of the spear.”
Paul is happy to let Cruz take that duty, and Cruz is eager to have it. Each man is staking out his own lane…
If McConnell takes this route and decides that this is as much of a public stand on Obamacare as he is willing to take, that is likely to set up a showdown in the spring between Cruz and the establishment over reconciliation. And it will also present a test for Paul, in which he has to navigate between the two sides.
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