Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has joined the list of Republicans calling for a federal government shutdown over funding for Planned Parenthood.
The reason Republicans cannot have nice things, he says, is because they don't stick together.
The Republican presidential contender was asked on "The Hugh Hewitt" show Monday night if he supported the move. "Well I can tell you this: I would," Trump replied. [...]
"I was also in support if the Republicans stuck together you could have done it with ObamaCare also, but the Republicans decided not to stick together and they left a few people out there like Ted Cruz," he said. "You know, they left a lot of the people that really went in and wanted to do the job and you know what? If they had stuck together they would have won that battle."
They actually would not have "won that battle" if they "stuck together" because they did not have enough votes to override a presidential veto.
Given that Trump is the current, unquestionable frontrunner, he will set the standard for every other GOP candidate who will be forced to make a decision: they can either join the chorus calling for a government shutdown, or they can be seen as weak by primary voters.
Whether or not we see a government shutdown at the end of next month will depend entirely on Speaker Boehner's and Majority Leader McConnell's willingness to avert a shutdown with mostly Democratic votes.
They've done it before.