Republicans Threaten to Shut Down US Government to Stop Obamacare

Washington has been overwhelmed by controversy and debate from Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s latest tactic: force the American government to close if Obama does not make concessions. His proposal shows how the party is already in the midst of an election campaign.

The Republicans want to shut down the American government in order to force Obama to change his health care reform. Since 2010, the GOP has been desperately fighting against Obamacare, which will be fully instated by next October. It might have seemed like Mitt Romney’s defeat in last year’s presidential election and the fact that the reform has now become “the law of the land,” meant that the Republicans’ anger was a thing of the past. This is not the case. Washington has been overwhelmed by controversy and debate by Republican Senator Ted Cruz’s latest tactic, which is supported by a number of his fellow influential party members: Force the American government to close if Obama does not make concessions.

Ted Cruz, who was voted in thanks to tea party votes and who is an unpopular figure among the leadership of his party due to his daring political strategy, has actually proposed that the Republicans vote against any budget proposals presented by Obama’s administration if they contain a section detailing the costs of Obama’s health care reform. In order to block the spending proposals, explained Cruz, 41 Republicans senators must agree to filibuster the reform and 218 House Republicans must vote against the reform. According to Cruz, whose political stymie is supported by prominent GOP representatives such as Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, a “shutdown” due to the government’s lack of funds would not necessarily be a bad thing. The shutdown of 1995, he explained, led to a stringent fiscal reform which did not cost the Republicans votes.

Cruz’s proposal is significant and shows how the party is now preparing for the 2014 midterm campaign and, above all, the 2016 presidential campaign. In the eyes of many influential Republicans, Obama has already dealt with a number of tough issues that were particularly difficult to handle — in the first place, the ongoing situation in Iraq, which seems to be at a standstill, and secondly, the disastrous international repercussions that arose with the Snowden case — and there was no need to involve himself with further problems. According to Speaker of the House John Boehner, John McCain and other GOP leaders, the Democrats were ready to turn on themselves, with the progressive wing of Obama’s party criticizing the president after poor government decision-making.

Instead, Ted Cruz has decided to take charge, causing the Democrats to reconsolidate their views on the president’s health care reform. Cruz’s proposal has recently been heavily criticized by many of his fellow party members. Paul Ryan, Romney’s vice presidential running mate in the last election and a probable candidate for the 2016 election, stated with regard to opposing Obama’s reform, “I think there are more effective ways of achieving that goal.” He added that shutting down the American government would not work. Another influential Republican senator, Oklahoma’s Tom Coburn, explained why a government shutdown would not work. According to Coburn, the “Affordable Care Act,” Obama’s reform, is based on a flow of funding that is in no way subject to congressional authorization and that automatically reaches the coffers of various government agencies. Other influential Republicans later pointed out that it is perhaps worth dropping the issue, at least for the moment. All the surveys show that the majority of Americans now accept the idea and the reality of Obamacare.

The fact is that Cruz and the other members of his party, mostly the more conservative wing with strong ties to the tea party, are currently unconcerned about the question of “reality.” Instead, they are interested in gaining and maintaining electoral support. Last week, House Republicans, who maintain a rather “maximalist” approach, once again voted against Obamacare for the 40th time. Attempts to overturn the law obviously have no chance of succeeding, as the Democrats control the Senate and the White House. Instead, what is at stake is the way in which GOP politicians are addressing their own constituency and rallying the party nearing the 2014 legislative session. The American electoral system grants extensive power and influential sway to party members and militants. The winner of the primary elections is the candidate that is the most articulate when speaking to the party. He or she is the most in tune with the party’s moods and leanings irrespective of the possibility that certain political and legislative initiatives must be passed. Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and all the others are therefore currently trying to sway members of their party. They go about firing up and cajoling their party with one thing in mind: the next elections. This greatly worries the more moderate politicians that are closer to the ruling class. As the 2008 and 2012 elections showed, hardline Republican candidates unite their constituency but do not win over the majority of Americans. Unfortunately for these tea party Republicans, their drastic strategies produce political rhetoric but ultimately no results.