*Government Shutdown
More bad headlines for the House Republicans leadership after they failed to secure votes for their “everything and the kitchen sink” strategy on the debt ceiling. After desperately trying to appeal to their most extreme and conservative faction by presenting a lengthy wish list of favorite GOP policy ideas – most of which have nothing to do with debt reduction – in exchange for addressing the debt ceiling, conservatives still were not happy.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of this House, there are 435 of us that have been asked by our fellow citizens to come to Washington, D.C., to have the extraordinary privilege of sitting on this Floor and making, they hope, responsible decisions for their country. I regret that the House is not full at this point in time.
As Republican dysfunction reaches new lows, the GOP strategy of holding hostage both government funding and the full faith and credit of the United States have been criticized by economists, the American people, and now one of their greatest allies, Wall Street. From Politico:
With a government shutdown still hanging in the balance, House Republicans are already making their threats on the next fight: holding the debt limit hostage in order to defund or undermine Obamacare.
With time running out to keep the government funded past October 1, House Republicans continue to threaten a government shutdown over their attempts to undermine the Affordable Care Act.
Newsflash for Republicans: coming on the heels of yesterday’s CNBC poll showing that Americans oppose defunding the Affordable Care Act – and even more so if it risks a government shutdown – is a United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll with further proof that their strategy is the wrong one:
MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP
This week, House Republicans voted to cut nearly $40 billion from our nation’s nutrition assistance program (SNAP), which would deny food assistance to nearly 4 million Americans, including children, seniors and veterans. For four decades, Congress has traditionally passed a bipartisan farm bill that includes this nutrition assistance.
“Madam Speaker, today we are considering a measure to fund government only if the Democratic Senate and the Democratic President will agree to dismantle the health care reform law that will help millions of Americans access quality, affordable care. That isn’t going to happen, and it is a blatant act of hostage-taking.
In response to last week’s continuing resolution that was pulled from the legislative agenda after the Republican leadership failed to gain enough votes from their most conservative faction, GOP leaders decided to move further to the right in pursuit of an even more reckless and partisan bill.
“I am deeply disappointed that Republicans continue to risk a government shutdown by appealing to the most extreme members of their party through a continuing resolution that has no chance of passing the Senate or being signed by the President.