Cruz: Republican Critics 'Bunch of Squishes'

Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz says he's becoming unpopular with some of his Republican colleagues because of the way he's working to keep up his support of conservative policies.

The freshman senator from Texas told the FreedomWorks Texas summit that he and Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah are facing a backlash because of their failed efforts to filibuster any gun control legislation from coming up for debate, reports The Huffington Post.

Cruz also recalled the “look of shock” on senior Democrats' faces after the comprehensive gun control measures went down, saying the opposition he, Paul, and Lee voiced also caused a heated debate among Republicans.

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"We've had probably five or six lunches with a bunch of Republican senators standing up and looking at Rand and Mike and me and yelling at us at the top of their lungs, I mean really upset,” Cruz noted. “They said, 'Look, why did you do this? As a result of what you did, when I go home my constituents are yelling at me that I have to stand on principle.'"

The Republicans were angry, Cruz said, because the filibuster thread made them look like “a bunch of squishes.”

Other reports, though, say Republicans thought the filibuster threat was not timed right and would have allowed some Democrats to avoid backing gun control.

Earlier this month, Cruz said “Republican senator after Republican senator” yelled at him for making efforts to reveal Obamacare.

"I said, 'Well, I respect your views but I'm going to introduce the amendment anyhow,'" Cruz said.