He made the shutdown a reality by doing what the majority of people wanted him to do. The reality is, and you left-wing c*******ts aren't smart enough to see it, is the Democrats were the one's that actually forced the shutdown by standing pat on Obamacare. The people did not want Obamacare, Cruz followed the Constitution and did what the people wanted, and the government was shut down. So how can you or any other C*******t nitwit accuse him of shutting down the government? Can't you take it when you finally run up against someone who actually does what an elected officials is supposed to do? I realize you C*******ts are used to getting your way and ignoring the Constitution, but we now have someone who KNOWS the Constitution as something more than a piece of paper to be shredded at random, and you can't stand it. You are scared to death that the people are finally getting their heads out of the sand and beginning to realize what you anti-Americans have been doing to this country.

Ted Cruz is a patriot; something that you left-wing C*******ts will never be.

I was in the newspaper business for 38 years as a reporter, copy editor, sports editor, news editor, editor, general manager and, eventually, publisher. Never once was I told what to write, how to play a story (except when the editorial team agreed on what we would put on page one). As a news manager, I never told anyone how to write a story. As a publisher, I never directed the editorial team to hew to a political philosophy. I never spiked a story because I disagreed with its content.

The only philosophy we journalists ever had was to get the story right as we could and double-check everything.

Thanks for nice post.

I've met with news leaders from all over the nation (and a couple of foreign ones, too). They all adhered to the same approach to news as I outlined above. The only interference from ownership (or the owner's delegated bosses) was financial. Almost every newspaper has seen a radical reduction in editorial staff, and it would be dishonest for me to claim we're doing the kind of thorough coverage we once did. We just don't have the horsepower (staff) we once did.

I well remember my days as a news editor and the daily "budget" meetings when the various editors gathered to decide which stories to pursue for the upcoming edition. Our regional editor was a libertarian. Our copy desk chief was an arch-conservative. Out city editor was ultra-liberal. The managing editor (my boss) and I didn't give a hoot about politics; we just wanted to go after the stories we felt had the most meaning for and impact on our readers. All of us checked our politics at the conference room door and reached consensus on what was worth our time to pursue.

I think it's that way in almost every mainstream newsroom. That's the journalistic tradition.

But one has to acknowledge that "media" these days takes in a lot of platforms, many of which don't adhere to these traditions. When Rush Limbaugh came on the air with conservative-only views, a lot of people thought this was a breath of fresh air because the news media, in its efforts to be unbiased, had also become boring and superficial. (Disclaimer: this last view is not widely held among my editorial colleagues.)

With the advent and advances of cable and satellite radio, the number of "news" outlets exploded, and we had opinion-based stations aplenty, none of which made any attempt to be unbiased. Indeed, they were in the business of being biased for wh**ever slant they purposely represented. That's where they thought the viewers or listeners would be, and thus advertising would follow (which was hokey-dokey with management!).

With the internet, where anyone capable of creating a web site can have a worldwide voice, there's been a plethora of "media" sites pumping out unverified, prejudicial, non-factual, unchecked views, shamelessly passing them along as facts.

Edward R. Murrow famously made this statement when national television was able to broadcast live from coast to coast: "Just because we can now cover the nation with our voice doesn't give us any more authority than the guy who yells from one end of the bar to the other." (I'm paraphrasing, but I've got it pretty close.) That, in my opinion, is the story of the internet. It's a wonderful tool, but it's one that also gives a megaphone to i***ts.

Finally, for those who really believe "the media" is controlled by liberals, look at the facts. Most newspapers, radio and mainstream broadcast outlets — most of the cable networks — are publicly held. The owners are stockholders, not liberals lurking in dark corners scheming on how to impose l*****t ideas on the gullible public.

Those at the top of the organizational charts of those companies are well-monied. They're not paid to put out slanted news. They're paid to make healthy profits, and most couldn't give a rat's ass about what their papers write or their stations put on the air. They care that they keep readers, keep viewers, keep listeners, and, above all, keep and grow advertisers.

When I was a GM and later a publisher, I barely had time to read my own newspapers, I was so swamped with filling out financial reports, formulating budgets, attempting to woo more advertisers and expand our media platforms to create more revenue streams.

Ted Turner is the only liberal media mogul I know of who wears his politics on his sleeve. (Warren Buffett just bought himself a newspaper, but I haven't heard of any policies he's imposed to do anything other than make money.)

Rupert Murdock ... that's a whole different story. And it certainly isn't a liberal one. Contrary to everything I just wrote, Murdock seems to have no qualms about having his massive holdings push a conservative agenda. He pays his people well to march to his conservative drumbeat, and, if his Fox News is any example, he's tremendously successful.

The "Tea Party" alternate reality hit home here.

Republican Rep. Peter King has not minced words, saying, Sen. Ted Cruz is to blame for the government shutdown. The New York lawmaker has skewered the "Tea Party" Texan, insisting there’s no reason for the government to be shut down.

King has stated, “This was a fool’s error started by Ted Cruz,” further adding “But we can’t just blame him. We have to blame his acolytes in the Republican conference—30 or 40 who stood with him…I blame Ted Cruz and his supporters.”

Republican Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania agrees with King in that there’s no reason for a shutdown.