Having learned nothing during the government shutdown, Speaker of the House John Boehner urged Congress to come together to open the government and destroy the ACA.
In a statement after the House voted 407-0 to give backpay to federal workers after the government shutdown ends, Boehner said, “It’s encouraging to see both parties come together to provide fairness for the 800,000 federal workers hurt by this shutdown. Now we should do something about the 800,000 jobs being destroyed by the president’s health care law. That’s why Republicans are working every day to reopen the government and provide fairness for all.”
The Speaker’s statement was some seriously desperate spin on Boehner’s part. Federal workers have always gotten their backpay after a government shutdown. It isn’t as if the House Republicans made some sort of big magnanimous gesture. They did what they were supposed to do in this situation. What was even more ridiculous was the idea that making sure that federal workers get the backpay that they are entitled to is the same thing as delaying, defunding, or changing Obamacare.
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The only person needs to come together, or even better, get it together is John Boehner. He is the reason why the government is shutdown. Boehner is refusing to bring a clean Continuing Resolution to the House floor. It isn’t that Democrats won’t come together with Republicans. The problem is that Boehner needs to grow a spine. Until Boehner will allow a vote on a clean CR, the government shutdown will continue.
There aren’t going to be any changes to Obamacare, and John Boehner is hurting millions of Americans with his insistence on pretending that there is any chance that Republicans can win. Congress is going to unite eventually, but they aren’t going to change the ACA. The only thing that might be destroyed by this last desperate gambit to stop Obamacare is 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
