A/T: Government Shutdown

Collapse is all hypebudget cuts are just leverage against Obamacare

Terkel, 7/30/13 (Amanda TerkelSenior Political Reporter and Politics Managing Editor at The Huffington
Post; Government Shutdown Will Not Shut Down Obamacare, Says New CRS Report; Huff Post; pg.; http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/30/government-shutdown-report_n_3677943.html)

If a government shutdown were to occur during calendar year 2014, the lapse in funding would not automatically suspend the requirement of the individual mandate," the report said. "In other words, during the time period that the government is shut
which they lacked minimum essential coverage." In recent days, Sen.

down, taxpayers who fall within the coverage of the individual mandate would still be accruing penalties for any months in

Mike Lee (R-Utah) has been leading an effort to essentially shut down the government unless Obamacare is repealed. He wants Republicans to refuse to pass a continuing resolution that would keep the federal government open beyond Sept. 30 if it includes funding for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He already has the backing of about a dozen Republican senators. Lee's plan, however, has also engendered significant criticism from his fellow Republicans. "The strategy that has been laid out is a good way for Republicans to lose the House," Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) recently told the Washington Examiner. Coburn's office released the CRS report on Tuesday. Like other critics of Lee's plan, Coburn has argued that holding up the government's operations over Obamacare is unrealistic, since Democrats still control both the presidency and the Senate and have vowed not to let Obamacare be defunded. "It's not an achievable strategy," Coburn told the Examiner. "It's creating the false impression that you can do something when you can't. And its dishonest." Last week, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) called it the "dumbest idea" he'd
ever heard.

Government shutdown is all hype

Giokaris, 8/6/13 (John Giokarissix years experience working in writing/publishing, having previously
worked at Law Bulletin Publishing, the Tribune Company and Reboot Illinois; Republican Threat to Shut Down Government Over Obamacare is a Bluff They Cant Win; PolicyMic; http://www.policymic.com/articles/58183/republican-threat-to-shut-down-government-over-obamacare-is-a-bluff-theycan-t-win) September 9. Back in March, the House easily passed legislation to extend federal funding through September 30 by a vote of 318-109, which sailed through the Senate 73-26. That leaves Congress three weeks to come up with a resolution to extend federal funding again or risk a partial government shutdown (I say "partial" because nothing critical Social Security checks, military, FBI, etc. gets affected. In fact, less

than 25% of federal workers would stay home in a government shutdown). Whats grabbing national headlines lately is a threat from a minority of congressional Republicans (12 Senate Republicans and 71 House Republicans, to be exact, or 12% of the Senate and 16% of the House) to shut down the government if they cant pass a measure
to defund Obamacare in the upcoming spending bill. While Im sure the media will love dramatizing this for the next eight weeks, this

will all be hype without much action, for three simple reasons: 1) The minority of Republicans threatening this dont have the votes to do it; 2) Many other Republicans rightfully understand that this would backfire on the GOP if it became a reality; and 3) It would ultimately prove futile anyway

since the measure wouldnt get passed by a Democratic majority Senate or President Barack Obama (like the 40 other attempts to repeal the law).

Government shutdown wont happenrepublicans concede

Kapur, July 30th, 2013 (Sahil Kapura congressional reporter for TPM, covered politics and public
policy for numerous publications including The Guardian and The Huffington Post; Conservatives Concede Defeat In Obamacare Shutdown Fight; TPM; http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/07/conservatives-admit-defeat-in-obamacare-shutdownbattle.php )
Multiple conservatives

leading the charge to shut down the government if Obamacare isnt defunded have begun to admit its a lost cause as senior Republicans put the kibosh on the plan. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) lamented Monday afternoon that Republicans are too scared to follow through with the plan to withhold support for funding the government after the Sept. 30 deadline unless Obamacare is defunded. The problem right now is we dont have Republicans willing to stand up and do this, he said on The Andrea Tantaros Show, a conservative talk radio program. We need 41 Republicans in the Senate or 218 Republicans in the House , to stand together, to join me, to join Mike Lee, to join Marco Rubio, all of whom have said, we will not vote for a single continuing resolution that funds even a penny of Obamacare. Late last week, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) laughed out loud when Sean Hannity of Fox News asked if Republicans have the courage
to stand tough against legislation that funds Obamacare. Frankly, probably not, the senator said.

As far as theyre concerned, these two lawmakers are pressing on with their demands, along with 10 other senators who signed a letter by Sen. Mike Lee

(R-UT) pledging not to fund the government unless it excludes appropriations to implement the Affordable Care Act. But

theyre far short of a critical mass and facing headwinds not just from Democrats but from GOP leaders who recognize the perils of shutting down the government over Obamacare. Senior Republicans are deriding the plan as dumb,
silly and a temper tantrum, warning that it will fail and damage the partys prospects in the upcoming 2014 elections. [I]ts dishonest, conservative Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) told the Washington Examiner, dismissing the plan as a

denial of reality mixed with a whole bunch of hype. Even so, the base isnt officially
giving up. A letter signed by more than 50 influential conservatives including heavyweights like Heritage Action, Club For Growth and FreedomWorks and Grover Norquists Americans for Tax Reform calls on House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) to include language fully defunding Obamacare when they consider their upcoming legislation to fund the government. The divisions reflect the GOPs catch-22 over Obamacare. After riling up their base and repeatedly promising to spare no effort to thwart the health care law, they

face the wrath of conservatives for refusing to put themselves on the line in service of the cause, despite daunting political odds. Some conservative activists say they feel played by the GOP for regularly invoking Obamacare to raise money but failing to fight it when it counts. I think I want to challenge Obamacare on all fronts, but thats a bridge too far for me, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told TPM in the Capitol on Tuesday. As much as I want to replace
TPM that Obamacare

Obamacare Im not going to deny Social Security payments, funding of the military and the FBI at a time of great national security concerns. I think thats a bridge too far. Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) didnt take a definitive stance, telling TPM, I hope we wouldnt shut down the government, but Id like to shut out Obamacare. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) told

is not working and needs to be fixed. But when pressed on whether its worth risking a government shutdown over, he demurred: Im not going to get that far . At his RedState.com blog, conservative
activist and Fox News contributor Erick Erickson has a series of posts expressing his anger and contempt toward Republicans for caving and, in his view, bamboozling

conservatives about their commitment to stopping Obamacare. They will send you fundraising appeals telling you to stand with the GOP against Obamacare, please send them money, he wrote on Sunday night. But when confronted with the challenge of opposing
continuing funding of the government if that funding goes to Obamacare, their testicular fortitude runs down their leg and

out the door. They rally their usual op-ed voices to call conservative dumb. They preemptively surrender. They behave worse than the French.