Tea Party Takes America Hostage (Le Figaro, France)
"Republicans who never fail to delight at the idea of sabotaging
a project of Barack Obama, also know they could pay dearly in the upcoming
mid-term elections for their intransigence. ... Americans, even if unenthusiastic
about health insurance, are allergic to blackmail."
Unless
a miracle happens in the last nanosecond, by 12:01 on Tuesday morning, the United
States government will be technically unemployed. The House of Representatives
passed a bill delaying the implementation of health care reform by a year and
removing a tax on medical devices that partly funds universal health care. By
adopting those measures, which were attached to a bill enabling the federal
government to continue to function, the House made certain that hundreds of
thousands of civil servants would be out of work by Tuesday. "Americans are
victims of extortion by Tea Party anarchists," lamented Harry Reid, Democratic
leader in the Senate.
Even
The Wall Street Journal, staunch ally
of the conservative clan, compared supporters of federal government closure to
suicide bombers. Obviously, the Tea Party sees things differently. For Mike Lee,
Ted Cruz, and their conservative colleagues in Congress, forcing hundreds of
government officials into technical unemployment is a way of reminding people
that Obama's reform of health care insurance is a bad law - and they are
convinced a majority of Americans agree with them.
Posted By
Worldmeets.US
Yet
Republicans, who never fail to delight at the idea of sabotaging a project of
Barack Obama, also know they could pay dearly for their intransigence in the upcoming mid-term
elections. Encouraged by Newt Gingrich, it was 17 years
ago that the same behavior turned out to be a disaster for the GOP, thus giving
Bill Clinton a boost. Americans, even if unenthusiastic about health insurance,
are allergic to blackmail.
John
Boehner, speaker of the House, had two options: fund Obamacare,
allow the government to continue to function and risk a rebellion among conservatives
in his ranks; or trigger a shutdown of the government. He has chosen, hoping
that the price to be paid at the next election won't be too heavy. Now the citizens
will decide.
