Unsurprisingly, the Republican House majority passed a budget bill that includes no funding to implement the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. So, unable to prevent passage of the bill, unable to overturn the bill legislatively or at the ballot box, the GOP has now decided to drive the country over a financial cliff in a fit of sore-losership unequaled since Mike Tyson took a bite out of Evander Holyfield's ear. Because the bill has about as much chance of making it through the Senate and receiving President Obama's signature as. . .well, as Mike Tyson had of beating Evander Holyfield. And if the spending bill is not approved, then the federal government will shut down for the first time since 1996--and the GOP firebrands are perfectly OK with that.
Now, are you ready for the best part? See, while shutting down the government will inconvenience a lot of people--families wanting to visit national parks, Medicare providers who may not be paid in a timely manner, low-level members of the federal bureaucracy who will find themselves furloughed--the essential business of the nation will continue. The United States will, for example, still have an army. (Don't get any funny ideas, Canada!) This is because, even if the federal government comes to a general standstill, agencies charged with upholding "the safety of human life or the protection of property" would still be allowed--required--to function.
And--get ready for it--President Obama could unilaterally declare the provisions of the Affordable Care Act vital to protect human life! In other words, by shutting down the government over a refusal to fund Obamacare, the House Republicans may actually expedite Obamacare's implementation!
Whatever you may think of President Obama, you have to envy him the utter stupidity of his adversaries.
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