Cigar
11-18-2014, 05:30 PM
http://upload.democraticunderground.com/imgs/2014/141118-new-republican-majority-threatens-to-shut-down-the-government.jpg
Why Republicans CAN'T QUIT The Government SHUTDOWN GameThe specter of President Barack Obama using his executive authority to temporarily shield as many as 5 million Americans from the threat of deportation has ignited a strong backlash from the GOP's tea party wing. Seeing no better option to stop Obama, these conservatives, led by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/jeff-sessions-government-funding-immigration) and 59 House Republicans, (http://www.scribd.com/doc/246476861/Salmon-Letter)are pushing for a head-on confrontation that would end in a government shutdown unless he backs down. "There is a growing momentum to the idea," Sessions told TPM and one other reporter in the Capitol on Monday. "I think it's important that Congress use what power it has to resist this presidential overreach." One top GOP aide working in support of the Sessions strategy said efforts by some Republicans to pass a long-term government funding bill that doesn't block Obama's immigration action was "cratering, fast and furiously." A senior Democratic aide said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had been having discussions about a long-term funding bill but recently the Speaker's office appeared to be backing away.
Boehner told reporters on Thursday that "all options are on the table" to stop Obama from acting unilaterally on immigration, including the threat of a government shutdown. A half-dozen GOP senators TPM spoke to on Monday would not rule out the idea of using federal funding as leverage to stop Obama. "I don't think the president ought to grant amnesty in any executive order," Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) told TPM. "Both parties need to sit on the table and work it out, but if he's going to go his own way then we have to use whatever tools we have to use." There are some important parallels to the 2013 fight over Obamacare that led to a 16-day shutdown and left Republicans wounded. The establishment wing prefers to avoid a shutdown and conservative lawmakers retort it would be Obama's fault if their strategy led to a lapse in funding. Then, as now, Obama is deeply committed to his initiative, enjoys strong Democratic support, and has vowed not to back down. Today's climate holds some similarities to the 1995 and 1996 shutdown, when the GOP also lost those battles.
The GOP was hardest hit by the 2013 shutdown, which also ended with them backing down and funding Obamacare along with the rest of the federal government. The GOP's approval rating plunged by 10 points to a record low, (http://www.gallup.com/poll/165317/republican-party-favorability-sinks-record-low.aspx) and it took about a year for them to recover the losses, according to Gallup surveys. So, why are conservatives returning to the precipice once again? Three key dynamics explain this seemingly strange tendency. The Republican base is hungry for confrontation with Obama. A Pew poll released last week (http://www.people-press.org/2014/11/12/little-enthusiasm-familiar-divisions-after-the-gops-big-midterm-victory/6-9/) found that 66 percent of Republicans want leaders to "stand up" to Obama, "even if less gets done in Washington"; just 32 percent said the party should "work with Obama" even if it disappoints some GOP supporters. The party's desire for confrontation is slightly higher than it was in 2010.
http://a5.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/w_652/extjcjalgn1mrnrgefvo.jpg
In the case of immigration, this tendency has been heightened by the GOP's crushing victories in the midterm election. Many Republican voters feel that the public would support their party in a confrontation after they ran against Obama, including his plans for executive action on immigration, and won decisively. "The president, who said his policies were under referendum — they were. And they were rejected," Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), the chair of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, told TPM. "The president doesn't seem to have listened to the voters in the election, and immigration — and him acting unilaterally — is evidence of that." "When the Republicans have the majority — let me say it differently, when Congress is functioning again — then I think the opportunity to use the power of the purse strings is appropriate," Moran said. The tendency is accentuated in the House, where many Republicans represent gerrymandered conservative districts which Democrats have little chance of winning. What these members worry about most is primary challenges from the right, and so they hew toward confrontation. Many Republican voters see illegal immigration as an existential threat to the U.S. Immigration and Obamacare trigger similarly profound anxieties among the tea party base. Both are seen as defining battles for the soul of the country, according to an extensive 2013 study by Democracy Corps. The study said these Republicans believe Obama wants to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants in order to create a larger base for the Democratic Party and throw conservatism into the dustbin of American history.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/government-shutdown-wars
http://41.media.tumblr.com/30eaf29ecd79127812ac04650732aaac/tumblr_muarqt0rhQ1rhkttmo1_500.jpg
The government shutdown battles are back — again.
Why Republicans CAN'T QUIT The Government SHUTDOWN GameThe specter of President Barack Obama using his executive authority to temporarily shield as many as 5 million Americans from the threat of deportation has ignited a strong backlash from the GOP's tea party wing. Seeing no better option to stop Obama, these conservatives, led by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/jeff-sessions-government-funding-immigration) and 59 House Republicans, (http://www.scribd.com/doc/246476861/Salmon-Letter)are pushing for a head-on confrontation that would end in a government shutdown unless he backs down. "There is a growing momentum to the idea," Sessions told TPM and one other reporter in the Capitol on Monday. "I think it's important that Congress use what power it has to resist this presidential overreach." One top GOP aide working in support of the Sessions strategy said efforts by some Republicans to pass a long-term government funding bill that doesn't block Obama's immigration action was "cratering, fast and furiously." A senior Democratic aide said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) had been having discussions about a long-term funding bill but recently the Speaker's office appeared to be backing away.
Boehner told reporters on Thursday that "all options are on the table" to stop Obama from acting unilaterally on immigration, including the threat of a government shutdown. A half-dozen GOP senators TPM spoke to on Monday would not rule out the idea of using federal funding as leverage to stop Obama. "I don't think the president ought to grant amnesty in any executive order," Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) told TPM. "Both parties need to sit on the table and work it out, but if he's going to go his own way then we have to use whatever tools we have to use." There are some important parallels to the 2013 fight over Obamacare that led to a 16-day shutdown and left Republicans wounded. The establishment wing prefers to avoid a shutdown and conservative lawmakers retort it would be Obama's fault if their strategy led to a lapse in funding. Then, as now, Obama is deeply committed to his initiative, enjoys strong Democratic support, and has vowed not to back down. Today's climate holds some similarities to the 1995 and 1996 shutdown, when the GOP also lost those battles.
The GOP was hardest hit by the 2013 shutdown, which also ended with them backing down and funding Obamacare along with the rest of the federal government. The GOP's approval rating plunged by 10 points to a record low, (http://www.gallup.com/poll/165317/republican-party-favorability-sinks-record-low.aspx) and it took about a year for them to recover the losses, according to Gallup surveys. So, why are conservatives returning to the precipice once again? Three key dynamics explain this seemingly strange tendency. The Republican base is hungry for confrontation with Obama. A Pew poll released last week (http://www.people-press.org/2014/11/12/little-enthusiasm-familiar-divisions-after-the-gops-big-midterm-victory/6-9/) found that 66 percent of Republicans want leaders to "stand up" to Obama, "even if less gets done in Washington"; just 32 percent said the party should "work with Obama" even if it disappoints some GOP supporters. The party's desire for confrontation is slightly higher than it was in 2010.
http://a5.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/w_652/extjcjalgn1mrnrgefvo.jpg
In the case of immigration, this tendency has been heightened by the GOP's crushing victories in the midterm election. Many Republican voters feel that the public would support their party in a confrontation after they ran against Obama, including his plans for executive action on immigration, and won decisively. "The president, who said his policies were under referendum — they were. And they were rejected," Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS), the chair of the Senate GOP's campaign arm, told TPM. "The president doesn't seem to have listened to the voters in the election, and immigration — and him acting unilaterally — is evidence of that." "When the Republicans have the majority — let me say it differently, when Congress is functioning again — then I think the opportunity to use the power of the purse strings is appropriate," Moran said. The tendency is accentuated in the House, where many Republicans represent gerrymandered conservative districts which Democrats have little chance of winning. What these members worry about most is primary challenges from the right, and so they hew toward confrontation. Many Republican voters see illegal immigration as an existential threat to the U.S. Immigration and Obamacare trigger similarly profound anxieties among the tea party base. Both are seen as defining battles for the soul of the country, according to an extensive 2013 study by Democracy Corps. The study said these Republicans believe Obama wants to legalize millions of undocumented immigrants in order to create a larger base for the Democratic Party and throw conservatism into the dustbin of American history.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/government-shutdown-wars
http://41.media.tumblr.com/30eaf29ecd79127812ac04650732aaac/tumblr_muarqt0rhQ1rhkttmo1_500.jpg
The government shutdown battles are back — again.