If yesterday’s vote to throw 3.8 million people off of food stamps was cruelty, today’s vote to defund Obamacare was an exercise in idiocy.
By a vote of 230-189, House Republicans passed a bill that would keep the government funded for three months, but it also defunds Obamacare. Boehner was in a delusional state as he said the vote was what the American people wanted.
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John Boehner and the House Republicans celebrated their 42nd vote to deny healthcare to 30 million Americans, but while they party, the Republican Party is dying.
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You know, we had a victory today for the American people. And frankly, we also had a victory for commonsense.
Listen, Sen. Baucus said it right several months ago when he said that this law is a ‘train wreck.’ And it is a train wreck. You know, the president said, you know, if we pass this law health care costs will go down. Well, now we find out that health care costs are going up for most Americans. The president said if you like the health insurance policy that you have, you can keep it. Well, we found out that’s not quite accurate either, and in the coming months millions of Americans are going to find out it’s just not quite true.
Listen, this is hurting our constituents. It’s hurting the American people. At a time when the economy is barely eking along, wages aren’t increasing, new jobs aren’t available, and what are we doing? We’re putting more costs and more inconvenience on the American people.
It’s time for us to say no. It’s time to stop this before it causes any more damage to American families and American businesses. You’ve got businesses all over the country who are not hiring because of the impact of this law. You’ve got other businesses that are reducing the hours for their employees because of this law.
And so our message to the United States Senate is real simple: The American people don’t want the government shut down, and they don’t want ObamaCare.
The House has listened to the American people, now it’s time for the United States Senate to listen to them as well.
If House Republicans were listening to the American people, they would know that a majority of the people don’t want Obamacare defunded. If they cared about what the American people wanted, they would pass a jobs bill. The nearly 4 dozen House votes against Obamacare are killing the Republican Party. The House obsession with Obamacare has turned the GOP into a one issue party, and they are wrong on that issue.
Fifty seven percent of the American people don’t want Republicans to defund Obamacare, yet here is John Boehner celebrating his latest pointless vote to get rid of Obamacare. What House Republicans actually voted for today was to not give 30 million Americans access to healthcare. Republicans are applauding the fact that if they were successful, people with preexisting conditions would be denied healthcare. They are celebrating the tyranny of insurance company benefit caps, and denial of needed treatment based on costs.
Boehner and his House Republicans are sending the message that the GOP doesn’t care about you. It’s not just about hurry up and die, the message is that you don’t deserve to live.
Ironically, what House Republicans were celebrating was a progression of the terminal illness that is killing the Republican Party.
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
