The fearful reason cited by some of our brethren on the right as to why they don’t want to defund Obamacare via Sen. Mike Lee’s letter:
Sources tell The Weekly Standard that Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell made clear he didn’t like Lee’s approach and the fact that media reports were suggesting Republicans were eager for a shutdown.
Oh, predominately leftist perspective “media reports” say that Republicans are eager for a shutdown. Might as well throw in the towel because if they don’t give Obama what he wants in fall’s budget battles, “media reports” will label GOP as “obstructionists”; in 2014 and 2016 “media reports” will say that Republicans hate women, are a subsect of the Klan, and other horrible things, so why even mount a challenge? Let’s just hysterically wave the white flag of surrender before they even arrive for negotiations. That’s one of the pillars of Art of War. Dang those “media reports!”
Thankfully, Sen. Mike Lee lays out some logic:
Look, Chris, we all know that the government is going to get funded. The only question is whether the government gets funded with Obamacare or without it?
That makes perfect sense. Why push through implementation of an unpopular and extremely not-ready-for-prime-time law? Democrats already scored their victory, so why the rush to implement only the freebie portion? Oh, right. Midterms. Democrats want to thoughtlessly implement a law that infrastructure currently cannot support so they can use it as a campaign favor ahead of elections. They’re willing to risk a shutdown of government to fund an unworkable law that is already killing the middle class for campaign optics.
Lee’s strategy won’t work because the CR is must-pass legislation. If Republicans tie an Obamacare-defunding demand to it, no bill will pass, and they’ll get blamed for shutting down the government, which will be unpopular.
Eventually, they’ll cave, the government will reopen, the health law will still be implemented, and the Republicans will suffer political damage. It’s a strategy that’s just asking for pain.
Whose shutdown? Who tied funding for an unworkable law to the funding of government? Not Republicans. This is the same thing as suggesting Republicans are responsible for the Democrat-controlled Senate not producing a budget. I’ve never seen so many so out of touch with the very people they’re elected to serve. The American people don’t want Obamacare funded. If Democrats want to wage a war on the middle class in word as well as policy, so be it.
We have to stop adopting Democrat narratives and surrendering due to fear of media. We don’t lose because we take a stand. We lose because we are afraid to fight. It’s time to remind people who owns what in this battle.
I’ll talk with Sen. Ted Cruz about this today on my radio program.
