House conservatives should choose: is Obama a weakling or a dictator?
by David Atkins
After years of being told that by House Republicans that President Obama is an implacable fascist dictator attempting to destroy the country through socialized medicine, Americans should a little shocked by this:
A weakened President Obama will back down if there is a standoff over funding ObamaCare and preventing a government shutdown, House conservatives say.
They are urging Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) to gamble that Obama and Senate Democrats will take the blame if they reject legislation that keeps the government running but stops ObamaCare.
At least 43 conservatives want the GOP leadership to go for broke, asserting that Obama has been damaged by stumbles over Syria and by several delays in implementing the Affordable Care Act.
The GOP’s internal battle pits lawmakers who want the party to take a calculated risk against leaders who fear it would be a big losing bet.
Democrats say there is no chance that they or the president will agree to hollow-out their signature domestic achievement.
The White House did not comment for this story, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) last week said the Senate would reject any attempt to defund the law.
Still, the GOP’s roll-the-dice faction is undaunted.
“I think the president’s too weak to shut the government down … I think we will win,” Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) said.
“Syria has hurt him significantly … it is a factor in the CR going forward, it is a factor in the debt ceiling,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said.
House Republicans have stymied chances of President Obama enacting any aspects of a second term agenda. I supposed they can be congratulated for that, insofar as it goes. But to think that the President will be cowed into abandoning by far the most consequential legislative action of his presidency in order to avoid a conflict that hurt Republicans when they tried it against Bill Clinton and will almost certainly harm them again is insanity.
The President may well over other pieces of the safety net in exchange for a continuation--in which case those concessions should be fought tooth and nail. But defunding Obamacare? It will never happen.
Most of all, it's hard not to laugh at people who believe a fascist crypto-Muslim anti-American dictator will back down in the face of Peter King on his signature initiative. These are not serious or smart people. Still, they do in theory have the power to kneecap the American economy if House Republican Leadership doesn't abandon the Hastert rule and bring a continuance to the floor to pass with Democratic votes.
.