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Harry Reid’s government shutdown hostage countdown showdown

Harry Reid’s government shutdown hostage countdown showdown

Harry Reid almost never allows up or down votes on Republican agenda legislation coming out of the House.  He has taken the Senate hostage.

A good example is the House Continuing Resolution which Reid would not allow to come up for a vote until Obamacare defunding was stripped out. He could have allowed a vote on the entire bill — which Ted Cruz said would have satisfied him — but Reid held the nation hostage.

The only mechanism for the House to effect any meaningful change — or even to get a vote on it — comes at times of budget/debt deadlines.  Even then, it’s limited because Reid backed by Obama knows that the media will play a deadlock as Republicans wanting to shut down government.

We’ll see how this dynamic plays out this weekend, as it appears the House will toss Harry Reid’s continuing resolution back to him with a delay in Obamacare and a few other tweaks.

John Boehner released the following statement today:

Boehner statement keeping government open

WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), and GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following joint statement: “The American people don’t want a government shut down and they don’t want ObamaCare. That’s why later today, the House will vote on two amendments to the Senate-passed continuing resolution that will keep the government open and stop as much of the president’s health care law as possible. “The first amendment delays the president’s health care law by one year. And the second permanently repeals ObamaCare’s medical device tax that is sending jobs overseas.  “Both of these amendments will change the date of the Senate CR to December 15th. We will also vote on a measure that ensures our troops get paid, no matter what. “We will do our job and send this bill over, and then it’s up to the Senate to pass it and stop a government shutdown.”

Meanwhile, the media is prepping the battlefield for CATASTROPHY:

But what’s interesting, is that under a little-known law, essential government services including the military and safety-related programs would continue even if the government “shut down,” as would programs with permanent funding like Social Security or multi-year funding.

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Comments

I wonder if the Marijuana smokers in Colorado or Washington State would even be aware if the government shut down.

“Bring it all down, man, hehehehehe. Got any Mountain Dew? I have a serious case of the munchies.”

Not A Member of Any Organized Political | September 28, 2013 at 4:30 pm

Harry can’t Reid, and Nancy can’t Right…..

First they came for the government bureaucrats,

But I didn’t speak out, because I wasn’t an overpaid, underworked pencil pusher.

So can Republicans force a vote on this bill, without it going to a cloture vote, where Reid can again strip it? Surely McCain will vote against cloture this time?

(or maybe cloture was a one time thing, since they are just amending the same bill?)

In any case, it will be Democrats voting to shut down government, AND ignore that Obama is giving special exemptions from the (constantly rewritten Obamacare) law, instead of upholding it. The executive is supposed to “execute” law, not give unequal treatment.

They’ve missed so many deadlines, and failed to turn in homework. They need to be held back a year. Obama has failed. Come back with the promised law, the one that makes our insurance rates go down, and lets us keep our plan and doctor.

    TrooperJohnSmith in reply to Midwest Rhino. | September 28, 2013 at 5:12 pm

    That’s what I was wondering. Will Reid just call on his 25-RINOs to, once again, help him and his cabal subvert the will of the People’s House? Of course, I guess Flake will be cleaning up after his kid’s wedding and will no-show, and Hatch will still be hanging inverted, sound asleep in The Batch Cave.

    Radegunda in reply to Midwest Rhino. | September 28, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    There’s a lawsuit or two afoot right now to challenge the implementation of a “law” that isn’t technically a law anymore since the executive has unilaterally twisted it into something that the legislature didn’t vote for. But can we trust the courts to rule constitutionally anymore?

    Perhaps more to the point, can we expect the executive to respect a court ruling he doesn’t like?

    On top of that: would the damage already done to the system be reversed? Would those of us who are losing our health insurance get it back again, at anything like the same price?

I remember Reid in LV in the 80′[s when he was on the Gaming Board. He is the same slimebag he is now. He makes your skin crawl.

    murkyv in reply to Ike1. | September 28, 2013 at 5:26 pm

    IIRC…Reid was the inspiration for the crooked character that Tommy Smothers played in “Casino”

    Real scumbag.

MaggotAtBroadAndWall | September 28, 2013 at 5:40 pm

If this Plan B doesn’t work out, I think I have Plan C. Since Obama talks more to the Iranians than he does to Congress, then Plan C is we get Rouhani to demand full Obamacare repeal.

What Boner (sic) and the rest of the House should to is send up a set of funding bills for each agency, and let the Senate vote on which agencies to fund and defund. A bill funding Obamacare shouldn’t even see the light of day, or if it does, it should easily be defeated by the GOP majority in the House.

Which is the GREATER CATASTROPHE:
1. Temporarily stopping the out-of-control, bloated federal government from spying on you, disrespecting you, harassing you and wasting $trillions of tax money, or
2. Allowing the OBOZOCARE train wreck atrocity to further destroy the US healthcare system, destroy more jobs and prevent many Americans from getting healthcare due to its high costs?

and, BTW, the self-serving establishment weasels of the Repub party also need to REMOVE THE OBOZOCARE EXEMPTION for congress and its humongous, overpaid staff.

I don’t think this will be pretty, as people get hit with it as a real part of their lives and budgets. A family of four making $50,000 a year will pay about $800.00 per month, before tax rebates, for the “silver plan.” So they will have to pay it every month and get the gov’t money rebate/refund once a year, I believe. It is not free, but it is required of every “citizen.” I am not convinced that even the majority understand what is happened and will happen soon. People working less than 30 hours make less money and have less disposable income, but they will be required to spend it on this. I’m thinking riots, but I could be wrong! 😉

I’m back in the “Let It Burn” camp. Let it go through.
Some people actually have to feel the pain to realize they need “Change.”

Dems passed it without a single Repub vote. They defeated the repeal XX times. And now, “to keep the good people in government” the GOP will cave, as they have no balls.

So the Dems own it. Make sure that message gets out.

Let It Burn.

If I didn’t have kids and grandkids….

[…] Jacobson at Legal Insurrection has up a great post today on “Harry Reid’s government shutdown hostage countdown […]

It’s not Harry Reid’s shutdown. Ted Cruz made sure the GOP would own “shutdown.” And, if you think it doesn’t matter … Well, most people hate government. Shutting it down permanently would work better.

Back in the old days, DC was hard to reach. (So was Philadelphia.) And, the original plans were to have it so people could get back to their real jobs … And, they only worked in Congress “part time.”

Maybe, we could pass a law that congress critters work only in odd years? And, the “close the store” in even ones?

Given that most people are healthy, discussing health insurance plans is not at the top of anyone’s agenda. What had happened is that insurance premiums have been set higher than the traffic can bear. Lots of people opted out.

Hospitals gotta treat ya anyway. And, if you’ve already lost your house, and you’ve had one or more cars repossessed … exactly where is money going to come from to “buy” insurance?

Yeah. It’s a tax. On that one John Roberts (who is an idiot for other reasons), didn’t lie.

Harry and Barack throw a hissy fit and demand that a Republican House of Representatives obey their dictates. Fine. If that’s the way they want to play it, let them shut it down. They want it? They can own it.

Harry Reid is a low-information senator

Day 1 of America Held Hostage.

The “Affordable Care Act” may be the law of the land, but so is the requirement for the Senate to pass a budget every year.

Harry Reid, where is the budget for the last 5 years?????