Ted Cruz, who made a 21-hour speech decrying the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has become the poster child for Tea party Conservatives and was hailed as a conquering hero when he arrived to speak at a gathering of Tea party supporters in Washinton, DC on Friday for the Values Voter Summit.

According to Yahoo, he spoke about his upcoming meeting with Obama and fellow Republican senators at the White House. He joked, “If I am not seen again please send a search and rescue team.”

NBC reports that in turn, he was heckled by protesters during the speech. He insisted that they were paid cronies of Obama’s, and they were removed.

Fellow conservative Republican Senator Mike Lee from Utah, who spoke before Cruz at the summit, has partnered Cruz in the fight to dismantle the healthcare law.

“We make no apologies,” Lee declared over the failed fight to block Obamacare. “We must stop it, we must defeat it, and we cannot accept it.” Lee, too, was given a standing ovation.

However, as Republicans begin to try to negotiate with Obama for a deal on the debt ceiling and the reopening of the Government, Cruz is gradually being defamed by fellow Conservatives.

“His battle is over,” said Charlie Black, a veteran republican strategist. “It was a bad idea. He was trying to do something that was impossible. There is a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate. He’s new to Washington. Maybe he didn’t know what was possible.”

Senator McCain, a republican from Arizona and former presidential candidate called Cruz and his allies “wacko birds”. But he’s not the only one to voice opposition. Representative Peter King from New York has also been a vocal opponent of Cruz’s tactics.

Republican political adviser Ford O’Connell said opposition to the healthcare law was justified, but Cruz’s tactics were “completely wrong.”

“Cruz has done a good job of bringing this to the attention of the American people – but the government shutdown has completely obstructed his message.”

He added,”The key to successful political negotiating is to pull the right lever at the right time. Unfortunately for the Republican party, the Tea Party caucus is pulling the right lever at the wrong time.”

Will Cruz’s tactics insight a Conservative uprising, or division of the Republican party? We shall see…

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