Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) became the latest Republican to criticize what he described as a “silly effort” by some members of his party to block funding for the government unless Obamacare is gutted.
Corker said that fellow Republicans like Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) who have pledged to block a continuing resolution (CR) and cause a government shutdown unless Obamacare is defunded are “taking themselves out of the debate.”
“Oh, I think it’s a silly effort,” Corker told MSNBC’s Chuck Todd. “What people are really saying who are behind that effort is we don’t have the courage to roll up our sleeves and deal with real deficit and spending decisions. We want to take ourselves out of the debate and act like we’re being principled to the America people by saying, ‘If there’s one dime of funding for Obamacare we’re not going to vote for the CR.'”
“I don’t look at that as very courageous,” he continued. “Most of us see through it and realize that these people are really just taking themselves out of the debate. We’ve got an opportunity to get our country right as it relates to fiscal issues. We’ve taken some big steps and when people take themselves out of the game like this, I think people see through it and understand what’s taking place.”
The effort to defund Obamacare has created a schism within the GOP, with the likes of Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) speaking out forecfully against the idea.
