Government shutdown looms: Is Republican resolve cracking?
As a government shutdown approached and polls showed an unhappy US public, some GOP moderates argued that the party insurgency had had its moment and that it was time to move on.
As a government shutdown approached and polls showed an unhappy US public, some GOP moderates argued that the party insurgency had had its moment and that it was time to move on.
With just hours remaining before a government shutdown, cracks are appearing in a GOP edifice that had been united in pushing a showdown with President Obama and Senate Democrats to the stroke of midnight and beyond.
An insurgent faction representing about a third of the Republican Party is holding out for a win. But some GOP moderates are making a strong case that the insurgency has had its moment and ran into insurmountable odds, and that it鈥檚 time to move on.
At the heart of the insurgency is Sen. Ted Cruz (R) of Texas, who declared partial victory Monday after the Senate rejected 鈥� swiftly, without debate, and on a straight party-line vote 鈥� the latest attempt by the GOP-controlled House to delay Obamacare.
鈥淭he voices of the American people have begun to be heard in this body,鈥� he said, speaking on the floor in midafternoon after a proposed one-year delay of Obamacare鈥檚 individual mandate was defeated.
Senator Cruz and some 90 House Republicans had adopted a strategy of linking the defunding of Obamacare to the funding for the new fiscal year. They and the outside conservative groups that back them said that the individual mandate to buy health insurance was so unpopular that the American people would rise up and force Senate majority leader Harry Reid to adopt the plan and Mr. Obama to sign it.
That didn鈥檛 happen, and polls show a majority of Americans think preventing a government shutdown is more important than defunding Obamacare.
In a bid to keep his caucus unified 鈥� or, at least, fight to the last possible minute 鈥� House Speaker John Boehner took one last shot Monday evening at formulating an offer that Senator Reid in theory could not refuse:聽delay Obamacare while requiring members of Congress and their staff to buy health insurance on the same public exchanges as other Americans.
The insurgents called this 鈥渢he nuclear option.鈥� It鈥檚 an offer that Senate Democrats cannot refuse, they say, without appearing to be putting Congress above the American people. If Republicans stay united, they say, they can鈥檛 lose.
鈥淵ou can鈥檛 imagine a more perfect political set-up than that which we are in right now,鈥� says Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R) of Kansas. 鈥淎re you going to close down the government to protect your own special privilege? If so, then Harry Reid is the obstructionist.鈥�
But doubts were growing in GOP ranks on whether even the nuclear option, which the House passed 228 to 201 at about 9 p.m., would be enough to convince Democrats to turn against their signature domestic achievement. Twelve Republicans broke ranks to vote against the measure.
鈥淭he fear shouldn鈥檛 be what happens at 12 p.m. tonight,鈥� says Rep. Michele Bachmann, a founder of the House tea party caucus. 鈥淚t should be what happens to jobs. We need to get back to the unity we had.鈥�
Just minutes after the House vote, Reid declared the latest House measure 鈥渄ead on arrival.鈥�
鈥淲e will not negotiate at the point of a gun,鈥� he said.
Out of leverage, House Republicans are now openly discussing their options, including taking a measure to the floor that simply extends funding for the fiscal year that begins on Oct. 1 for another week 鈥� or longer.
鈥淲e went to the nuclear option,鈥� says six-term Rep. Devin Nunes (R) of California. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 beyond this. This is everything in the tool box.鈥�
鈥淚 say to my friends in the tea party:聽We have to negotiate,鈥� says Rep. Pat Tiberi (R) of Ohio, a close ally of Speaker Boehner. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a Republic. We have a House and a Senate. I want Harry Reid to compromise just as I want Ted Cruz to compromise.鈥�