Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain took issue Wednesday afternoon with a comparison made by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz during his marathon speech between those who did not believe Cruz’s strategy would be successful in defunding Obamacare to those who argued to appease the Nazis during World War II.
“I resoundingly reject that allegation,” McCain said, after Cruz wrapped up is 21-hour, 19-minute speech at noon.
“That allegation, in my view, does a great disservice, a great disservice for those brave Americans and those who stood up and said, ‘What’s happening in Europe cannot stand.’ … There were many who raised their voices, and then there were those who went to war because of the barbaric and great threat to civilization and everything we stand for — amongst them were my father and my grandfather,” McCain said.
“I spoke to Sen. Cruz about my dissatisfaction about his use of this language, and he said he only intended it to be applied to pundits and not to members of the Senate. I find that a difference without distinction,” McCain said.
“Because I have an open and honest disagreement with the process of not agreeing to move forward with legislation which I agree with, which was passed through the House of Representatives and comparing it to those who appeased, who were the appeasers, as Sen. Cruz described them, is an inappropriate place for debate on the floor of the United States Senate,” McCain concluded.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer joined those calls, saying that as a person who lost relatives in the Holocaust, he was offended.
Republican Rep. Justin Amash took to Twitter following the speech to make clear what he thought of McCain’s remarks: “Senate Democrats have yielded to @SenJohnMcCain to give the Democratic response to @SenTedCruz,” he tweeted.