Cruz calls McConnell a Democrat

Ted Cruz on Thursday night accused Mitch McConnell of being "the most effective Democratic leader in modern times."

Furious over the deal to raise the debt ceiling and strike a budget agreement, the Texas Republican and presidential candidate ticked off a set of statistics showing several high-profile votes that united Democrats and divided Republicans. The vote totals for the confirmation of Attorney General Loretta Lynch and backing off of a fight over President Barack Obama's immigration actions led Cruz to a "shocking conclusion" -- that the Senate majority leader is a Democrat in disguise.

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"I've got to say, Leader McConnell has proven to be a very effective Democratic leader. With just 46 Democrats, the outcome is exactly what Harry Reid and the Democrats would want," Cruz said of the budget accord. "Is this not a curious state of affairs? Why is a Republican majority leader fighting to accomplish the priorities of the Democratic minority."

The 90-minute broadside, delivered to a mostly empty Senate chamber as lawmakers prepared for a 1 a.m. vote, was more pointed than ever but a continuation of his long-running feud with McConnell. He's already called the GOP leader a liar for allowing a vote on the Export-Import Bank, so perhaps the word "Democrat" is one of the few insults Cruz has left in his arsenal.

Cruz said if McConnell quibbles with the label, he should commit to only voting on legislation that accrues a majority of Senate Republicans.

"That would be a sensible reform. Sadly, I think the odds of it happening are not significant," Cruz said.

In typical fashion, the reserved McConnell was not on the floor to offer a response nor did any of his allies offer a return volley. Plenty of Republican senators oppose the deal that delivers $80 billion in new military and domestic spending, but McConnell's backing is so deep within the Senate GOP that Cruz is alone in dishing out such personal attacks.

The Texan's speech was a bit of a make-up attempt from Wednesday's debate, when Cruz used a question on the debt ceiling to attack the CNBC moderators. While that earned a major applause line, CNBC did not let him answer the question on the debt ceiling and budget deal, an issue directly in Cruz's wheelhouse given his lonely war against McConnell. Cruz later was able to answer, but he didn't hit his stride as he did on Thursday evening.

"In the Senate we have one leadership team. It is the McConnell-Reid leadership team. In the House we have had the Boehner-Pelosi leadership team. They operate in complete harmony growing Washington," Cruz said. "That frustration is what is driving every day the growing and growing rage from the American people."

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