Republican Circular Firing Squads
By Cathy Craddock
Senator Cruz made this observation:
“If 41 Republicans stand together in the Senate or 218 Republicans stand together in the House, we can win this fight; we can defund Obamacare in its entirety,”
The clock is ticking and to date 14 Senators and about 80 House members are on board.
“But the only way that’s going to happen is if the American people stand together and demand it.”
The Kaiser Poll shows 57 percent of Americans oppose defunding it. While ObamaCare is not popular, people feel that the budget process should not be used as a tactic to circumvent a law. I am on board with this philosophy because I really resent when Executive Orders are used to bypass legislation.
Both Sen. Pat Toomey and Congressman Pat Meehan claim they can pass legislation to dismantle Obamacare apart bit by bit. They say they have the votes (bi-partisan) to repeal the tax on medical instruments and to get rid of the death panel (IPAB ). There is agreement on other aspects as well. They don’t want Obamacare to survive any more than we do.
Recently I have started to cringe when I hear “hold’em accountable”. Heritage and other groups pressure us to hold lawmakers “accountable” if they fail to heed our DEMANDS. Just how do you hold someone accountable for something he never PROMISED to do? Will Toomey and Meehan be marked with scarlet TP letters since they obviously don’t intend to comply with the Cruz/Lee ill-fated scheme?
On the other hand, YES WE CAN and should hold them accountable if they don’t follow through on their proposed brick-by-brick delay tactics.
Honestly, “Defund Obamacare” is DOA (dead on arrival). Probably won’t pass the House. If it does, Harry Reid won’t bring it up in the Senate. If he does and it passes, Obama will veto it and there aren’t enough votes to override the veto. What’s the point??????
We have met the enemy and it is us. Circular thinking and circular firing squad.
So sick of it! I am sick of all the national groups like Heritage and Freedom Works acting like “thought herders”. Tired of us being sock puppets (lemmings?) when they issue a call for collective action accompanied by the big DONATE button to click on for the cause.
Maybe we’re really hamsters – running endlessly and getting nowhere for a losing strategy that seriously jeopardizes any hope of winning the Senate in 2014.
We might even lose the House because “our” people will turn on incumbents like Toomey and Meehan if they don’t toe the line. You know who they are … the ones who see themselves as “hammers” and the incumbents as “nails”.
I can just imagine the Democrats doing a little jig as they plan their 2014 campaign ads against the mean-spirited, racist Obama-hating Republicans who don’t want little Timmy to get his asthma treatments, along with all the other tear jerking personal stories they’ll plaster on TV.
We never win the PR war – nor do we understand it. We just trust that low-information voters across America will be impressed with our principled stance.
Well, how’s that been working out so far?
Great article and while I don’t agree 100%, I do get the point of it. Republicans need to develop a strong platform and learn to deliver it to the low information voters. Ted Cruz is correct in trying to get rid of Obamacare by holding the money back. He does not have the exposure given to the WHO nor does he have the media on his side. Those are obstscles that Republicans need to learn to overcome. We all knew that votes to repeal Obamacare were symbolic–votes to defund show a real commitment to opposition. In 2012, the Republicans played the moderate game–they’ve been doing it for years and they have continually lost–until 2010 when they came out strongly against Obamacare. And were able to get a lot of boots on the ground because of it. And they won. A lot of those boots are upset that they aren’t putting their money where their mouths were. So both sides have a story to tell and both are valid. The tea party was started because people were fed up with the status quo and wanted to see change. Change won’t happen if those in DC keep going along to get along. But until they learn what their message is and how to get it out to the people, there will be problems.