Congressional Republicans want to have their pandering cake and eat it too by scheduling a vote to defund Obamacare ahead of a separate vote to fund the federal government.
House Republican leaders are proposing a plan in a conference meeting Tuesday to force a symbolic Senate vote on defunding Obamacare but will stop short of shutting down the federal government if the Senate vote fails, as expected.
The proposal, sketched out to TPM by a GOP leadership aide, is designed to give conservatives the vote they seek on defunding the health care law without risking a confrontation that could result in a government shutdown when money runs out on Sept. 30.
This is essentially a “cave” or at least an admission that defunding Obamacare is a pipedream at best, but the GOP has backed itself into a corner where they can’t afford to not vote to defund Obamacare.
They’ve hyped the idea so much to their caucus and their constituents, as seen at town hall meetings during the month of August, that they can’t afford to let the next month pass without voting to defund it again. They have to save face.
By my count, this will mark the 41st attempt to defund Obamacare. This is reportedly symbolic but, if we’re being honest, so were the last 40 attempts.