Thursday marks day three of the republican shutdown of the federal government. Despite the Senate’s willingness to vote on House bills concerning the continuing resolution (CR) to fund government operations for the next six weeks, republican House Speaker John Boehner still refuses to allow a vote in the House of Representatives on the Senate’s clean six-week CR in order to placate a small number of far-right gerrymandered representatives within his own caucus.
For these representatives, and I use the term loosely, the idea of affordable health care for tens of millions of additional Americans even when that healthcare is part of a free-market system with private insurers, is an abomination. Yet, by insisting on the defunding or delay of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, they are actually voting against a free market solution, all while espousing the virtues of a free market solution.
The number of far-right representatives involved in this extortion against the nation is not a majority of the total number of House members; this group is not even the majority of House republicans. This is precisely the reason why Boehner will not allow a House floor vote on the Senate’s clean continuing resolution; he knows such a resolution would pass.
As stated previously, the Senate has already voted on the anti-healthcare House bill and the bill did not pass. Now it is time for Speaker Boehner to allow all representatives in the House to cast their vote on a clean CR, instead of allowing only far-right radical to dictate the House’s path. After all, that is the point of the House of Representatives and not allowing the representatives to vote is a slap in the face to our democratic values.
In any event, even if the House republicans do stop their shutdown soon, the debt ceiling limit is fast approaching and before we know it six weeks will have passed; we will be back at square one in attempts to pass a full 2014 federal budget, most likely having this same debate on this same issue.
John Boehner needs to finally rise to his leadership role as Speaker of the entire House of Representatives and bring the Senate’s clean continuing resolution to a vote instead of pursuing his presently self-chosen lesser role as lackey to the far-right wing of his party.
