Jewish World Review August 30, 2013/ 24 Elul, 5773 Do GOPers have a death wish? By Deroy Murdock





http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | Yet again, congressional Republicans have backed themselves into a corner by believing the left's anti-GOP talking points -- this time on Obamacare. "Shutting down the government just because I'm for keeping it open? That's not an economic plan," President Barack Obama said in Florida last month. "Defunding the Affordable Care Act is not achievable through shutting down the federal government," parroted Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C. As Republican senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio keep repeating, they aim to shut down nothing. They want a continuing resolution that funds the entire federal government, except for the new health-care reform law. If Obama signs such a measure, the Federal Aviation Administration will keep controlling jet traffic, and the FBI will keep tracking terrorists. But Obamacare's cash will evaporate, as well it should. Conversely, if Obama vetoes such a budget bill, he -- not Republicans -- may jeopardize federal operations while ignoring the 54 percent of Americans who disapproved of Obamacare in the latest Rasmussen survey. Republican lawmakers should stop quivering in fear of a president with a 44 percent Gallup job-approval rating. With a little courage and creativity, Republicans could fight the defunding battle effectively -- if not to immediate victory, then to this dreadful program's ultimate detriment. First, Republicans control the House of Representatives, the birthplace of spending bills. They should exercise their constitutional power and imminently consider language that funds everything but Obamacare. Second, Republicans should adopt the left's practice of giving bills delicious titles. How can they counter liberal claims that they want to padlock Washington? Call their Obamacare-defunding vehicle the Keep Government Open Act of 2013. Third, the House should pass this bill immediately after Congress reconvenes Sept. 10. This legislation then would define the public debate until Oct. 1. Democrats cannot accuse Republicans of closing the government if the GOP gives Senate Democrats and Obama nearly three weeks to respond to the House proposal. This early vote also will put House Democrats on the record. Do they stand with Americans who face rising premiums and are losing their insurance, even if they like it, or do they stand with Obama, who illegally has decreed exemptions and delays to keep Obamacare wheezing along? Fourth, with news cameras present, House Republicans should march this physical bill across the U.S. Capitol. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, should declare: "We hereby deliver this measure to the Democratic Senate to complete the people's work and keep America's government open." Fifth, while the Senate debates this bill, House hearings throughout September should showcase Obamacare's victims. These might include Americans who now work part time, as their employers confront Obamacare's rising costs. Medical-device manufacturers should detail how Obamacare's fresh tax is unplugging new treatments. Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa Jr. should explain why he wrote that Obamacare would "destroy the foundation of the 40-hour work week that is the backbone of the American middle class." If public pressure prods enough Democrats to join Republicans in defunding Obamacare, perhaps Obama himself will accept this for one year. Failing that, the GOP fallback position may be to place the program's funds in escrow in exchange for a one-year implementation delay. Some Republicans simply would let Obamacare rip. Once functioning, they argue, Obamacare's costs will explode as its "benefits" collapse. The rebellious American people then will demand to have Obamacare's fangs dislodged from their necks. But how? Repealing Obamacare post-implementation still will require congressional approval and Obama's signature. If that, essentially, is the battle Republicans would wage later, why not sooner? "The problem with defunding is that on Jan. 1 Obamacare still will be the law," Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., told constituents in Fallbrook, Calif., last week. "That's why we need to repeal it." But defunding vs. repeal is no either-or proposition. It's both: If a hostile tank prepares to roll into town and unleash doom, go look for anti-tank grenades. Meanwhile, drain its fuel. if (strpos(, "printer_friendly") === 0) {} else { =<< Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Comment by clicking here. Deroy Murdock is a columnist with Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.



Previously: • 08/23/13: Obama administration devolves into Obama regime • 08/15/13: GOP must move on Obamacare substitute • 08/09/13: PROOF confirmed! IRS caressed liberals, harassed conservatives • 08/02/13: ObamaCare should be defunded now • 07/26/13: Obama drowns Americans in yet another geyser of words • 07/19/13: Conservatives should fight liberal word games • 07/12/13: Lies are fueling those who'd kill us • 07/05/13: Washington merits Declaration of Incompetence • 06/21/13: Celebs should visit, not boycott, Israel • 06/14/13: Revive America's can-do spirit • 06/07/13: What the IRS will do for ObamaCare • 06/03/13: Quin Hillyer throws his metaphor into ring • 05/24/13: Meet a few of the illegal aliens with rap sheets whom Team Obama flung onto America's streets • 05/20/13: Big government's new legacy of scandal • 05/10/13: Why Benghazi is biggest coverup since Watergate • 05/03/13: Obama puts U.S. at risk to slam GOP • 04/25/13: U.S.-Mexican border welcomes terrorists • 04/19/13: In Boston bombing, left wrongly blames right • 04/12/13: U.S. tax code, 74,000 pages, lots of laughs • 04/05/13: Obama should share in Americans' sacrifices • 03/29/13: Karl Rove has no right to lecture conservatives • 03/22/13: Black votes could be GOP's secret weapon • 03/15/13: Dems, choose between rhetoric, reality • 03/08/13: GOP leaders need courage and stagecraft • 03/01/13: Sequester should chop federal fat, not bone • 02/22/13: Chuck Hagel's Greatest Hits • 02/08/13: Control government's guns • 02/01/13: GOP lacks guts, imagination on spending cuts • 01/25/13: How to guarantee the rich flee • 01/18/13: Limitless and lawless bipartisanship • 01/11/13: The most frightful environmental nightmare isn't • 01/04/13: 'Fiscal cliff' leaves GOP dazed, confused and fractured • 12/21/12: How sad that nearly every Democrat and too many Republicans cannot grasp a concept self-evident even to a Cuban Communist • 12/07/12: A simple fact on which every American should meditate • 11/30/12: GOP should hammer Left about racism • 11/21/12: How Squanto became a Thanksgiving symbol • 11/09/12: Obama's re-election bewilders • 11/05/12: Actually, Obama is growing the economy • 10/26/12: Romney's ignored Mitt-zvahs • 10/19/12: Obama's most dangerous disappointment • 10/12/12: About Behghazi, Obama lied, people died --- and few bother to cry (out) • 10/05//12: Obama the exacerbater • 09/28/12: Barack Obama, slacker-in-chief • 09/24/12: Citizens or subjects? Candidates offer choice • 08/17/12: Dems ignore own issues with Medicare • 08/13/12: Speech Romney should give on Bain • 07/20/12: Obama's green projects bleeding red • 07/13/12: EPA, why fine oil firms over fantasy biofuel? • 07/06/12: How about remembering Mexican victims of 'Fast and Furious'? • 06/29/12: Health-care victory will give Obama headaches • 06/22/12: Mitt Romney, get on bus • 06/18/12: The 'racist' Florida vote purge obeys federal law • 06/08/12: Scott Walker's win should propel big reforms, stiffen pols' spines • 06/01/12: Regulators regulate, and that's a problem • 05/25/12: WWII hero Karski to receive U.S. Medal of Freedom • 05/18/12: Not the behavior of normal Americans • 05/18/12: Spacemen to NASA: Cool it on global warming • 05/04/12: Libs want to plunge the penthouse • 04/27/12: Obama and company are pushing hard on the pedal for deadlier cars • 04/20/12: We don't need no stinkin' budget? • 04/14/12: New Reasons to Hate Obamacare • 04/06/12: Team Obama plays energy policy for laughs • 03/30/12: Twitchy Dems need to let workers put tax-cut money in retirement funds • 03/23/12: Why not $100-an-hour minimum wage? • 03/15/12: The real (high) cost of Obama's health care act • 03/09/12: Race-baiting Dems oppose voter ID • 03/02/12: Forget kids --- today's debt hurts adults • 02/24/12: Dems arise against Obamacare • 02/17/12: The voting dead are understated • 02/10/12: Holder takes on 'racist' photo-ID cards: Prejudice is widespread --- even Obama backed them • 02/03/12: On tax plans, Gingrich trumps Romney • 01/27/12: Photo IDs can protect elections, let dead rest • 01/20/12: Romney runs hot and cold on global warming • 01/13/12: Economic freedom declines in U.S. • 01/06/12: Time to yank off Mitt's mask • 12/23/11: Boehner hands Dems a gift • 12/15/11: The U.S. could learn much from Hong Kong • 12/09/11:$687 billion is available to Congress free of strings • 12/02/11: Obama criticizes Wall Street but takes money from it • 11/18/11: Puerto Rico shows Washington the way • 11/11/11: Take heed, America: In Ohio even left-wing unionists voted to repeal ObamaCare • 10/28/11: Thanks, Netanyahu, for surge of hardened terrorists • 10/24/11:The Obama Spend-O-Rama • 10/17/11: Cain stakes his viable claim just by showing up • 10/07/11: Green jobs are national scandal • 10/04/11: Obama proudly declares class war • 09/23/11: Obama wrong about Do-Nothing Congress • 09/16/11: Obama needs Ryan's vision on jobs • 09/09/11: Reaganomics trounces Obamanomics • 09/02/11: Labor leaders to Obama: Stop killing jobs • 08/26/11: Pro-market Perry vaults over Romney in GOP race • 08/19/11: Some rich Americans will not rest until Washington boosts their taxes • 08/12/11: Hope, change and free birth control for all • 08/05/11: Debt deal does virtually nothing • 07/21/11: Dems pro-choice on abortion but little else • 07/15/11: Debt deception: If only Dems were honest and GOPers were courageous • 07/08/11: Congress' war on light bulb blows up







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