Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) received an earful Monday at a town hall after he said that he will not be backing efforts to defund Obamacare and risk a government shutdown.
The exchange was captured and posted by the tea party website ConstitutionalWar.org. A man off camera can be heard asking Pittenger about the defunding effort spearheaded by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT).
“Do you want the thoughtful answer?” Pittenger asked.
“I want yes or no,” the man said.
Pittenger then said “no,” a clip that the tea party website re-played in slow-motion.
The lawmaker then had a back-and-forth with the man and a woman, who was also off camera.
“Do you think Harry Reid is going to pass that in the Senate?” Pittenger asked.
“It doesn’t matter,” the man fired back.
“We need to show the American people we stand for conservative values,” the woman shouted, drawing a smattering of applause.
Lee’s push to defund Obamacare has drawn support from the likes of Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rand Paul (R-KY), but it’s also created a schism on the right. Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Bob Corker (R-TN) have pushed back against the effort, while influential conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer called the defunding proposal “nuts.”
