Discussion for article #240820
Wouldn’t it be more elegant to just do the responsible and correct thing right up front" Say No to the petulant brats and tell them to Grow Up?
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Basically, the plan looks like this:
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Isn’t the shutdown a feature, not a bug? Don’t see how this plan gets around the right fringe wants to defund Planned Parenthood at all costs. That includes keeping the government running.
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In today’s GOP-controlled legislature, not shutting down the government requires “threading the needle.” Let’s reflect on that for a moment.
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Is this the first vote to defund Planned Parenthood of 50 as they did in the House to repeal Obamacare?
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It’s dawned on them that Planned Parenthood is far more popular than the Republican Party is.
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That is true, except for the white old farts who constitute their base, most of whom are just pissed that the pill wasn’t there for them when they were bumping and grinding.
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Send in the clowns.
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Well, shutting down the government to prevent women getting health care is one strategy; shutting down the government to prevent health care to poor people in general is always popular.
Of course you could just do your FUCKING JOBS and pass legislation that would help the American people regardless of political party.
Nah, sorry lost my head there for a moment.
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So they want to just put all the issues off for few months. When exactly? Would that be around the time that congress is adjourning to go home for thanksgiving? around the time they’re adjourning to go home for the war against the war on christmas? Or around the time of the opening republican presidential primaries?
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But don’t spending bills have to originate in the House? I get that McConnell is trying to build the wings so that when the thing lands in the Senate he can quickly move it through…but at this point, isn’t the assumption that something even remotely like what he is proposing coming out of the House a pretty big assumption, at odds with the reality?
I agree. Shows how terrified McConnell is that he would even consider kicking this can down the road. Maybe he wants to combine the PP shutdown with the debt ceiling shutdown? These guys are pathetic.
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Can anyone explain how this “defunding” would occur? My understanding is that Planned Parenthood’s government funding is in the form of Medicaid, which is paid for routine gynecological care, cancer detection and prevention, and contraceptive care. As I understand it, there are no outright grants, or bulk funds that go to Planned Parenthood. Am I wrong? Please tell me if I am.
Does the government routinely “fund” or “defund” other health-care providers? Is this a legitimate function of Congress? To me this is almost as silly as the bakers who feel that providing a cake for someone they don’t approve of is impinging on their religious beliefs.
I guess what I am asking is this: How can Congress legally “DEFUND” Planned Parenthood? Not liking it doesn’t seem to pass the smell test for me. In the absence of any illegality, what do they base this on?
Is there any chance they will defund the hedge fund guy who raised a 65-year old medication from $13 to over $800? Or are they wringing their hands over that one?
Oh, and since I am on the subject, why is it a legitimate action to shut down the government? It should be illegal. What a bunch of children! Their only hope is that they can blame it on President Obama. Well, it didn’t work last time and it won’t work again.
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Actually this could be a fascinating legal argument. Since corporations are people too my friend. It’s a violation of the Constitution to specifically name a person in legislation. It’s a bill of attainder. So if they go down Route you could have yourself a constitutional challenge and considering the right-wing crazies on the court well it might just work.
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Another GOP-manufactured solution for yet another GOP-manufactured crisis, solving nothing.
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A small structural problem
The basic structure here is that our current system for funding the US Gummint depends on all three legs of the legislative trifecta allowing the 12 annual appropriations bills to go forward. (Okay, yes, 2/3 of both chambers of Congress could pass these bills over the veto, but nobody gets 2/3 until and unless we enter a new political universe, so sit down and quit interrupting.). Any one leg can hold the US Gummint hostage.
So, no matter how sane, or at least less insane, the Senate Rs become, the House Rs still get to take the Gummint hostage all by their own fat selves. The Senate Rs don’t get to take charge of anything, even assuming they had the will to do that very uncharacteristic thing, take charge of something.
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The GOP shut the govt. down over Obamacare and now they are itching to shut it down over Planned Parenthood. What exactly do they have against people of modest means having access to basic health services? I’d really like to know.
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So, postpone the whole thing and make it 3 months closer to the election. Thats a real winner