Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are falling all over themselves to disarm their respective caucuses before the new session even starts. Republicans were awarded majorities in both chambers on Capitol Hill with two specific instructions from voters: (1) get rid of ObamaCare, and (2) STOP amnesty. The power of the purse AND impeachment are two of the most powerful weapons the legislative branch has to keep the executive branch in check. Unfortunately, both leaders are going on record emphatically ruling out the use of either of those two weapons in any upcoming debates on amnesty or ObamaCare. So, threaten the possibility of a government shutdown, and the GOP leadership goes belly-up.

Texas senator Ted Cruz and North Carolina’s Mark Meadows led an effort last year to defund ObamaCare. Both men had the rug pulled out from underneath them by their fellow Republicans. The excuse establishment Republicans used for not going along with Cruz and Meadows was the Democrat-dominated Senate.

Now, we have a GOP-dominated Senate being sworn in at the start of the year. The excuse has now shifted to Obama’s veto power making any repeal efforts futile.

Fifty House Republicans have circulated a letter demanding that the appropriations process be used to defund any efforts to pay for Obama’s amnesty plans. (Walter Jones is the only Tar Heel pol signing on to the letter.)

Some conservative activist groups are now suggesting a similar tactic in the ObamaCare fight: