Mitch McConnell Warns Against Government Shutdown Over Abortion

UNITED STATES - JUNE 19- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference, which featured speeches by conservative politicians at the Omni Shoreh... UNITED STATES - JUNE 19- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky., speaks at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority conference, which featured speeches by conservative politicians at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. on June 19, 2015. (Photo By Al Drago/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Staring down the possibility of another government shutdown at the end of the month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) went on the record with Politico to tamp down fears that there would be a shutdown over Planned Parenthood funding.

“Shutting down the government, it doesn’t defund Planned Parenthood any more than shutting down the government two years ago would have defunded Obamacare,” McConnell said in the interview, referring to the 2013 shutdown that was led by some of the same cast of characters floating a shutdown now.

In addition to publicly reminding his conservative colleagues of the political consequences of shutting down the government over abortion politics – a movement that is being fueled by a series of Planned Parenthood “sting” videos – McConnell and his counterparts in the House have set up votes on anti-abortion bills separate from the federal budget to channel conservatives’ outrage elsewhere.

In the Politico interview, McConnell laid out a longer-term strategy to achieving some of the things conservatives desire that depends on Republicans holding their majorities in Congress while winning the White House in 2016. In the meantime, he said he wanted to focus on more moderate goals that are achievable in the current landscape, like infrastructure funding and a cybersecurity bill.

“None of them by themselves fundamentally change the country. But they’re all important,” McConnell said.

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. Avatar for mcbain mcbain says:

    The GOP has absolutely no interest in governing. They are only there to fleece money from the rubes. Mitch and friends helped create this beast, and now they can no longer control it.

  2. Avatar for mcbain mcbain says:

    GOP Stragery in action…

    1. Pick a policy that is highly emotional with the rubes
    2. Threaten to shut down government to stop this policy, whether or not the shut down could actually accomplish this.
    3. Send out fund raising letters to rubes about how you are sticking it to Obama and Dems in general
      4)Watch the campaign donations flow into your coffers
    4. Shut down the government and try to blame on Dems
    5. If Dems can’t be blamed, rely on the short memory of the American public to absolve you of any blame.
    6. Repeat as necessary
  3. Pretty much. The GOP are banking on fear, hatred and loathing to keep their gravy train rolling. The problem is that, at this rate, the US will be a wasteland in short order and the money will stop rolling upwards. If I was the Democrats I’d be mocking the GOP about how they want to return the US to the 13th Century. Which, in fact, they do.

  4. How about you get what you want by legislating and debating your side of the argument. And then when you lose, you lose. The last government shut down cost over $2 billion. And they’re willing to do this over spending 1/4 that amount on services that help women. Fuck them all straight to hell.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

41 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for webcelt Avatar for pluckyinky Avatar for josephebacon Avatar for charliee Avatar for coronakid Avatar for clunkertruck Avatar for artemisia Avatar for epicurus Avatar for vonq Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for becca656 Avatar for mcbain Avatar for Lacuna-Synecdoche Avatar for mantan Avatar for daveyjones64 Avatar for jegan Avatar for darrtown Avatar for emilianoelmexicano Avatar for beattycat Avatar for ennuithereyet Avatar for wtf1 Avatar for virginialady Avatar for canary02

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: