Reince Priebus on Sunday downplayed disagreements among Republican lawmakers about whether to oppose a “continuing resolution” to fund the government unless that resolution also defunds Obamacare. In doing so, he looked to shift the discussion to the dissension in the Democratic ranks that the health-care law has caused.
“The real story here,” Priebus told CNN’s Candy Crowley, “is that the Democrats in the Senate in the House, the ones that are vulnerable and want to get reelected, have turned their back on the president. That’s the story, not the tactics on the Republican side of the aisle.” He continued, “People don’t want this. If this was such a great idea, then all of these senators that are vulnerable in 2014 would have voted for it, and they didn’t.”
A group of Senate Republicans, led by Utah senator Mike Lee and Texas senator Ted Cruz, are leading an effort to oppose any continuing resolution that includes funding for Obamacare. That push has sparked talk of a government shutdown and has already garnered opponents within the party, chief among them House majority leader Eric Cantor. Priebus’s remarks suggest he believes that tension could be damaging to the GOP as we approach the fall’s fiscal battles.
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