Unless the country’s political leaders can come to an agreement, the United States government may be closed for business.
This government shutdown comes after months of political posturing and fiery debate over the political hot potato known as Obamacare. Officially known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the three-year-old healthcare law finds itself in the middle of a Washington food fight as Republicans vow to defund it, while Democrats are sticking to their guns in support of the president’s signature achievement.
It’s not hard to understand why Republicans hold the position they do. Fundamentally, they disagree with the law; many of them ran on a platform that included repealing Obamacare. Since 2011, the GOP-led House has voted over 40 times in favor of repeal. Those were all merely symbolic votes, since all repeal bills have died as soon as they reached the Democrat-led Senate.
But, by threatening to shut down the government, many GOP politicians believe that they can finally be successful in killing the law, or at least make it a campaign issue for Democrats in the 2014 midterm elections. It should be noted that the House passed legislation last week that would continue to fund the government, but only on the condition that Obamacare is defunded. This is considered a non- starter with Democrats.
“The American people don’t want the government shut down, and they don’t want Obamacare,” said House Speaker and Republican John Boehner.
However, there comes a point where politics must end and where governing must begin. The GOP vehemently opposes Obamacare. They have made that much clear. However, shutting down the government in order to force the law’s repeal is simply not possible in this political climate. Simply put, the Democrats control the Senate. Even if it passed the upper chamber, it would almost certainly be vetoed by President Obama.
“Some have threatened a government shutdown if they can’t shut down this law,” Obama said in a speech. “Others have actually threatened an economic shutdown by refusing to pay America’s bills if they can’t delay the law. That’s not going to happen as long as I’m President. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay.”
The merits of the health law can be debated. But, tying it to this continuing resolution is nothing more than political grandstanding. The American people agree. According to a CBS News/New York Times poll, 80 percent of Americans believe government shutdown isn’t an acceptable way to achieve a political goal.
Congress – specifically Republicans – must start listening to the American people. Although the Affordable Care Act has proved somewhat divisive since it passed, it is currently the law of the land. As long as President Obama is in office, that will most likely not change.
Instead of shutting down the government and wasting time on meaningless repeal votes, Republicans should work with Democrats to improve the law. It is certainly not a perfect law, but repeal is not an option.
Most importantly, in order to avoid manufactured crises – from the debt- ceiling showdown of 2011 to the one our leaders are facing now – it is imperative that Congress passes a budget. For the past four years, Congress has only been able to agree to continue resolutions that have usually lasted around three months each. Every time these resolutions have expired, there has been another crisis. It is a cycle that must be broken. Having a yearlong budget in place would go a long way in breaking that cycle.
With Democrats controlling the White House and Senate, the GOP will not be able to realize their dreams of killing Obamacare. They should stop the brinksmanship and work with Democrats to keep our government open for business.
President Obama won decisively in the last election. As the saying goes, elections have consequences. Obamacare is here to stay as a result. It is time to let bygones be bygones.