Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 08:41 pm
It’s gut wrenching to watch IRAs do the GOP twitch after not even recovering fully yet from the Bush ’08 crash. But on a political level, shutting down the government over ObamaCare is the dumbest GOP temper tantrum yet. (Dumbest as in conspicuously unintelligent.)
Even though House Republicans allegedly have the votes to pass a clean CR (aka, the Senate version), Republicans insist they will shut down the government if ObamaCare isn’t delayed, defunded, destroyed – because OBAMA!!
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
They have the votes:
House Republicans would have to rely on Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to rescue them yet again in order to pass anything remotely resembling their constitutional job of funding the government. GOP leadership would have to round up around 120 Republicans willing to vote for sanity (not an easy pitch these days), but it could be done. They only need to drum up around 17 Republican votes if they stop pretending that the Hassert Rule is a real thing (as Boehner does when it suits him).
All we need is 17 Republicans willing to vote for this country and we could all be spared this sickening drama. Why? Because Democrats are always willing to do the House GOP’s job for them. But Boehner won’t even put the clean version up for a vote.
Pelosi is always there to put country first ahead of the potential political win for her party. The pundits might wish to ponder this fact the next time they get “confused” as to which party is constantly putting partisan politics over the welfare of the country. No, Dorothy, they don’t “both do it”.
No one is on board with the GOP shutdown plan other than their hardcore supporters and Big Corpa, who are driving this push to take healthcare access away from millions of Americans because it allegedly cuts into the profit margin of corporations (to which I say, “Do it better, work harder, stop whining”).
Imagine Democrats shutting down government over a law that they ideologically oppose. Say a Republican governor was in charge of a progressive state like Wisconsin, and he and his cronies passed a “law” in the dark of night to destroy collective bargaining – a “law” that violated the state constitution and was passed in a way that violated several policies and procedures. Would the Democrats refuse to fund the government of Wisconsin, or would they go about fighting the law legally in court. Yes, that’s right, they would fight the illegal law the legal way. This is how civilized people do things, as frustrating as it can be.
Let us note that ObamaCare was fought in the highest court in the land and it won.
When Democrats tried to recall Wisconsin’s Republican Governor Scott Walker, Republicans sold the public on the idea that it’s bad to recall someone just because you don’t agree with their policies. Recalls are not the place for ideological fights! Keep it clean, people. Let his policies be implemented because he was elected. Does this apply to another executive, like say, the President? Touché.
The Republican Party is not a party of values; they are a party of excuses. So no, it does not apply to President Obama. They are trying to recall/repeal his policy because they disagree with it, even though it’s law and was passed per the democratic process.
Democrats are not going to help Republicans out of this hole like they usually do. Democrats did not stick around this weekend to play pretend Where’s Waldo with Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) on TV. Nancy Pelosi went home to celebrate her anniversary, while Boehner jacked up his Victim Status because he had to come to work one day.
Perhaps Republicans can’t see the difference between their debt ceiling hostage taking and shutting down the government hostage taking. As unfair as it may be, these two are not the same and do not carry the same cost. Shutting down the government is not going to go well for Republicans. While pundits play who’s to blame, the public is ahead of them once again. The public knows who’s to blame.
If the Republican Party wants to destroy itself in public, brand itself once again as the party of market crashes and fiscal recklessness, if they want to give the middle finger to everyone from the troops to our police to hardworking civilian government workers, go ahead.
Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid will not lift a finger to stop them because all three of these Democrats understand that the Republican Party is writing free ads for the Democratic Party for the next four years. The message will be, “A Democratic controlled Congress and White House are necessary safety mechanisms against reckless, juvenile Republicans.”
Or, to put it more simply, “Vote Democrat to save America.” This will not be hyperbole, and that makes it more potent and long-lasting than “Death Panels”. Please proceed, Republicans.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
