Why the GOP’s Shutdown Insanity Won’t Hurt the Right Wing Bookmark and Share RSS Permalink Posted Friday, September 20th 2013 @ 2pm by Jamelle Bouie Conservatives are still fighting to shut down the government over the Affordable Care Act, passing on Friday a budget resolution that would cut all funding for Obama’s signature health-care law. This despite the fact that—in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s words—any bill that defunds Obamacare is “dead” in his chamber. Bowing to right-wing demands, however, House Speaker John Boehner says he expects his Senate colleagues “to do everything they can to stop this law,” while Texas Senator Ted Cruz hassignaled his willingness to stage a “talking filibuster” to block any government spending bill that funds the president’s health-care law. But it’s an easy step for Cruz to take. Neither he nor his supporters will face the political damage that comes with provoking a government shutdown. Instead, it’s his opponents—the more mainstream members of the Republican Party—who are certain to bear the brunt of the damage. And that fact means we should expect even more shenanigans from the nihilist wing of the GOP. Yes, the public isn’t thrilled with Republicans—a 44 percent plurality holds an either “somewhat negative” or “very negative” view of the party, according to the latest survey from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal—and yes, a majority of Americans have already said they would blame the GOP in the event of a shutdown. But for the most conservative members of the House, this is irrelevant. “All that really matters is what my district wants,” said Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky in a comment to the Washington Post. “And my district is overwhelmingly in favor of my position.” Read more: klvi/articles/politics-104707/why-the-gops-shutdown-insanity-wont-11672087/#ixzz2fZ3cowo8
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 21:20:04 +0000
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