A number of prominent conservatives were up in arms Wednesday at what they viewed as a double-standard between the media’s reaction to the marathon filibuster waged by Texas state Sen. Wendy Davis (D) and the overnight floor speech by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to block funding for Obamacare.
Because Davis fell short in her effort earlier this year to block anti-abortion legislation, some leading figures on the right contended that it was hypocritical to dismiss Cruz’s actions as a futile publicity stunt.
But those conservatives seemed to ignore a glaring substantive difference: Davis actually conducted a filibuster, while Cruz is not (as CSPAN reminded viewers). Cruz negotiated the terms of his lengthy speech ahead of time and will be forced to stop speaking when the Senate ultimately votes later on Wednesday.
Below, a sample of conservatives crying hypocrisy on Twitter:
Those in my timeline saying @SenTedCruz‘s filibuster will do nothing really loved Abortion Barbie’s filibuster that didn’t stop TX.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) September 25, 2013
NYT, 6/25/13, on Wendy Davis: ‘The Great Abortion Filibuster.’ NYT, 9/24/13, on Ted Cruz: ‘The Embarrassment of Senator Ted Cruz.’
— Byron York (@ByronYork) September 25, 2013
GP! “@AppleCiderKY: Wendy Davis conducts pointless filibuster &she’s a hero to the Left. Cruz stands for something &GOP estab. sneers.”
— Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) September 25, 2013
WhiteHouse reporters, remember this? @BarackObama: Something special is happening in Austin tonight: http://t.co/SK6v40jEgJ #StandWithWendy
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 25, 2013
