This is the week when Republicans of all shades got the nerve to take Ted Cruz to the woodshed for his insistence on trying to repeal Obamacare.

But perhaps no GOPer has been more pugilistic than New York Rep. Peter King, who is adeclared candidate for president in 2016.

King amped up his rhetorical firebombs Friday.

The highlights:  Cruz is a headline-hunting fraud who is bad for the party.

Republican Rep. Peter King said Friday that his Republican colleague in the Senate, Ted Cruz, “is a fraud” who will “no longer have any influence in the Republican Party” after the House votes on a measure that could potentially lead to a government shutdown.

. . .

“I hope people will get the message this guy is bad for the party,” King said Friday, talking about Cruz, a potential 2016 presidential candidate.

. . .

We can’t be going off on these false missions that Ted Cruz wants us to go on. The issues are too important. They’re too serious, they require real conservative solutions, not cheap headline-hunting schemes,” he said.

I’ve speculated that King is doing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s bidding here, but the charges are getting so hot it’s hard to deny his authenticity.

Cruz & King — sounds like a Crossfire booking waiting to happen!

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