John Boehner’s Answer on Syria is to Hold More Votes To Kill Obamacare

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With the nation facing a vote on the authorization of military force in Syria, Rep. John Boehner is already planning more votes to kill Obamacare.

Politico reported that with the Congress facing critical votes on Syria, funding the government, and the debt ceiling, Speaker of the House John Boehner’s big plan for the fall is to hold more votes to stop Obamacare:

At the same time Washington is focused on Syria, advisers to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) say he plans to intensify his crusade against Obamacare. Conservatives in both the House and Senate are determined to prosecute their case for defunding the Affordable Care Act, and even the House leadership will continue trying to roll back the law just as it’s beginning to go into effect.

“We have not ruled out defunding Obamacare in the [continuing resolution],” a House GOP aide said. House Speaker John Boehner has also said he plans a series of votes in a continuing effort to curtail the law — for instance, adding a requirement that income and eligibility be verified for people getting benefits. Aides hope a measure like that could get some Democratic buy-in.

In the face of a critical vote on authorizing the use of military force in Syria and the prospect of a government shutdown, the one part of John Boehner’s agenda for the fall that is written in stone is holding more votes to kill the ACA.

They may not get it together enough to hold a serious debate on military action, raise the debt limit, or fund the government, but you can be certain that before Thanksgiving, House Republicans will vote on several different measures that are designed to make sure that 30 million Americans are denied access to healthcare.

The idea that repealing the ACA would still be on anyone’s mind in the face of such pressing real issues is absurd, but Boehner is up against the wall. He has been labeled a traitor because he supported Obama’s request for the authorization to use force in Syria. The way for him to get back into the good graces of the far right is to throw some more meaningless votes out there on Obamacare.

It doesn’t matter how many times they vote to get rid of the ACA. It is never going to happen. The Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. A hundred votes to get rid of Obamacare will have the same non-impact as one House vote to kill the ACA.

House Republicans have gone from wasting our time to being a danger to our nation.

Obamacare isn’t the only issue in the country, and the Republican obsession with it deserves to be punished at the ballot box in 2014.

Jason Easley

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