President Obama ripped House Republicans for claiming that they are being disrespected in the government shutdown. Obama said, ‘If you’re being disrespected it’s because of that attitude you got.’
Video begins at 30:00 mark:
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The president talked about the growth in the economy, and the damage that the government shutdown is doing. He talked about how people won’t get their next paycheck. President Obama repeated that there was one way out of this for Republicans. They have to pass a clean CR. Obama said that there are enough Republicans in the House to end the shutdown today. Obama said that Boehner could end this in the next 5 minutes, but he won’t let the bill get an up or down vote because he doesn’t want to anger the extremists in his party.
The president said that if Republicans want the shutdown to end, there is a simple way to prove it. They can let the Senate bill come up for a vote and the shutdown could end in the next half hour. The president, “My simple message is call a vote.” He said if you are for a shutdown you’ll vote against the Senate bill. If you are against a shutdown you’ll vote for the Senate bill.
Obama said that one faction is refusing to allow a vote unless they get some massive partisan concessions. The president said that Republicans, “got exactly what they want, and now they’re trying to get out of it.” President Obama quoted Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN), “We’re not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”
The president replied, “Think about that. You have already gotten the opportunity to serve the American people. There’s no higher honor than that. You’ve already gotten the opportunity to help businesses like this one. Workers like these, so the American people aren’t in the mood to give you a goodie bag to go with it. What you get is our intelligence professionals being back on the job. What you get is our medical researchers back on the job. What you get is little kids back into Head Start. What you get are our national parks and monuments open again. What you get is the economy not stalling, but continuing to grow. What you get are workers continuing to be hired. That’s what you get. That’s what you should be asking for. Take a vote. Stop this farce, and end this shutdown right now. If you’re being disrespected it’s because of that attitude you got. That you deserve to get something for doing your job.” He said that if regular people did what the House Republicans are doing, they’d get fired.
The president said that this shutdown has nothing to do with deficits and defaults, and some of the things that Republicans are asking for would add to our deficits.
Obama, “This whole thing is about one thing. The Republican obsession with dismantling the Affordable Care Act.” He pointed out the flaw in the Republican plan. The government is shutdown, but the ACA is open for business. He noted that since Republicans have taken control of the House we have one of this crisis every three months.
Later, President Obama talked about the debt ceiling and repeated that, “There will be no negotiations over this.” He said once again that Republicans do not get to extract a ransom for doing their jobs.
President Obama continues to make it clear that Republicans aren’t going to get anything. This speech was all about putting the pressure on John Boehner to allow a vote on the clean CR. House Republicans are setting themselves up for ridicule with comments about being disrespected. Obama pounced on Stutzman’s comments because they reflect the attitude of the Republican Party. This shutdown isn’t about doing what’s right for the American people. This is about their egos and defeating Obama.
House Republicans are desperate. They want a way out of this, but they don’t know what they want, and Democrats aren’t going to give them anything. Eventually, maybe some year, Republicans will realize that Obama and the Democrats aren’t playing. Republicans wanted a shutdown. They’ve got their shutdown, and now they are going to have take their medicine if they want to get out of the mess that they’ve created.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
