Ottawa Senator

Obamacare is a trainwreck—for House Republicans, because the one thing just about everybody on the outside ofHouse Speaker Ted Cruz's silo can agree on is that threatening to shut down the federal government unless President Obama agrees to repeal Obamacare is a bad idea.

But inside that silo:



Conservative Republicans are confident they’ll avoid blame in 2014 if the government shuts down over the GOP’s push to defund ObamaCare, despite public polling and historical precedent that indicates the party is putting itself in political peril. More than a half-dozen conservatives who voted for the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), which strips funding for President Obama’s signature healthcare law, refused to even speculate about the political fallout if their strategy fails and the government is shuttered. “The Democrats are trying to talk to us about a government shutdown. We passed a CR. They control the Senate. They control the White House. They ought to take our bill up and pass it,” said Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), who will face a difficult reelection fight next year.

Yes! Davis couldn't be more right. Democrats control the White House, and they control the Senate, and now, even though a million more Americans voted for Democratic congressional candidates than Republican ones, they should do what House Republicans are demanding, because ... well, because Ted Cruz said so.

And the best part of the deal they are offering is the fact that their bill will fund the government all the way until December 15, so as long as President Obama and Democrats are willing to repeal Obamacare, they can prevent a government shutdown for 75 days. That's almost three full months! What a deal!

Of course, that's not going to happen. So what will happen? Well, Davis accidentally stumbled on something that is true:



“It’s not on us anymore. It’s on the Senate Democrats to come up with a solution.”

And everybody knows what that solution will be: Legislation preventing a shutdown that doesn't play games and doesn't repeal Obamacare. And when that legislation comes back to the House, Speaker John Boehner will need to turn to Democrats to pass it, because, as House conservatives have shown, they still haven't figured out the best way to prevent a government shutdown ... is to prevent a government shutdown.