President Obama Refuses to Give Republicans a Lifeline

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Speaking in the Rose Garden on the first day of the GOP government shutdown, President Obama threw down the gauntlet. Big Daddy Barack will not save House Republicans this time. There will be no lifeline from the White House.

Video:

Obama clearly called it — not shying away from labeling it a “Republican shutdown”. “This Republican shutdown did not have to happen. But I want every American to understand why it did happen. They’ve shut down the government over an ideological crusade to deny affordable health insurance to millions of Americans.”

President Obama laid out exactly when the shutdown will end, “It’s only going to happen when Republicans realize they don’t get to hold the entire economy hostage over ideological demands.” With that one phrase, the president sent the message to House Republicans that their mission has failed. They are going nowhere fast, and it’s time to abandon ship.

The President said the shutdown threatened out economic recovery. He said a refusal by GOP in Congress to pay our bills by raising the debt limit would create an “economic shutdown”.

Obama put his finger on the pressure point of Republicans, saying reasonable Republicans are asking reckless and irresponsible GOP House to knock it off, pass a budget and move on.

The President nailed the Republicans for being all about keeping people uninsured, which isn’t exactly a great slogan even for the party that excels in propaganda. “This is only going to happen when Republicans realize they don’t get to hold the economy hostage over ideological demands. It’s all about rolling back the Affordable Care Act. This, more than anything else, seems to be what the Republican Party stands for these days. I know it’s strange that one party would make keeping people uninsured the centerpiece of their agenda, but that apparently is what it is.”

Obama tried to draw attention to the ways that the Republican shutdown is hurting Americans, “And we know that the longer this shutdown continues, the worse the effects will be — more families will be hurt, more businesses will be harmed. So once again, I urge House Republicans to reopen the government, restart the services Americans depend on and allow the public servants who have been sent home to return to work.”

So, that’s a no to a House lifeline. Republicans are secretly begging for a face saving measure, but it looks like President Obama has finally had enough. Making matters worse for Republicans, Democrats are strongly united and feeling emboldened and empowered by their President taking a hard line.

There will be no symbolic victory for the House Republicans. They will get nothing to take back home to their constituents and hold up as a victory. House Republicans are going to have to wear this shutdown as a mark of their own failure.

Republicans will have to invent their own reason for finally caving on their shutdown tantrum, but then, propaganda is what they do best.

Sarah Jones

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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.

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