The just-concluded
government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis
revealed a deep and profound split within Republican ranks, as tea
party crusaders pushed for brinkmanship to thwart Obamacare and
establishment-minded GOPers freaked out over the historic hit their
party was receiving in public opinion polls. Even after the conflict was
settled (at least for a few months)—with the congressional Republicans
essentially waving a white flag—the civil war within GOP and
conservative circles continued unabated. Once the deal went down,
mainstream GOPers immediately blamed the "
suicide caucus"
for harming the party and pledged to block future shenanigans of this
sort, and tea partiers in and out of Congress dismissed the "
surrender caucus"
and vowed to continue the fight as the next D-Days approach (January 15
for funding the government, and February 7 for the debt ceiling).
This ugly episode hasn't resolved the tensions within the GOP and the
conservative movement—it has exacerbated them. Here is a list of
post-deal quotes from key players in this civil war that show the
internecine battle is not likely to end soon.
THE WE-TOLD-YOU-SO ESTABLISHMENT
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.):
"We're not going to go through the shutdown again. People have been too
traumatized by it. There's too much damage…We're not going to shut down
the government again. I guarantee it."
Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.): "This party is going nuts."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): "For
the party, this is a moment of self-evaluation, we are going to assess
how we got here…If we continue down this path, we are really going to
hurt the Republican Party long-term."
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.):
"On our side of the aisle, we've wasted two months focused on something
that was never going to happen. I won't say that I did, but a number of
folks did. What we could have been doing all this time is focused on
those mandatory changes that all of us know our country needs, and we’ve
blown that opportunity. I hate to say it.”
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.):
Called Republicans advocating for the shutdown "lemmings with suicide
vests…They have to be more than just a lemming. Because jumping to your
death is not enough."
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Penn.): On
his long-held belief that the government shutdown wouldn't work: "I was
correct in my analysis, and I'd say a lot of those folks were not
correct in theirs."
Karl Rove: "Barack
Obama set the trap. Some congressional Republicans walked into it. As a
result, the president is stronger, the GOP is weaker, and Obamacare is
marginally more popular. The battles over spending, taxes, and debt have
not been resolved, only postponed. It's time Republicans remembered
that bad tactics produce bad outcomes."
Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.):
"All you need to do is look about 200 miles south of here to see the
mess that Republicans and Democrats have made of our national government
and we should haul all their rear-ends to Camden today to see how
bipartisanship works and government works together."
http://youtu.be/39PSpdPI5-c
Published on Oct 16, 2013
Rutgers Camden Nursing Building, 10-16-2013. (Transcript Below)
Governor
Christie: Now I don't know, I'm looking around, I might be the only
Republican within like shouting distance around here, I don't know. But
the point is these nursing students don't care whether the new building
that they're going to get to learn, and grow, and perfect their
profession in is built by a Republican or a Democrat. They don't care
whether the economic development that they'll see sprouting around this
comes from a Republican or a Democrat initiative. These men over here
who are going to build this building for us don't care whether that
building project came from a Republican or from a Democrat. And the
point of being down here is not just to put a spotlight on Camden, but
to put a spotlight on the fact that when we work together, when we find
common ground, when we're willing to put aside our partisan differences
to find the things that we know are important to the people of our state
and get them done these are the kind of things that happen. And for the
people who give us these jobs in the first place, frankly they could
give a damn about all the politics, they want us to get the job done.
And all you need to do is look about 200 miles south of here to see the
mess that Republicans and Democrats have made of our national government
and we should haul all their rear ends to Camden today to see how
bipartisanship works and government works together.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah): "Heritage
used to be the conservative organization helping Republicans and
helping conservatives and helping us to be able to have the best
intellectual conservative ideas…Right now, I think it's in danger of
losing its clout and its power around Washington, DC."
http://youtu.be/c7Xeah718Hs
Published on Oct 17, 2013
via MSNBC's The Daily Rundown - 10/17/13
TRANSCRIPT:
HATCH:
Well, I'll be honest with you. The right is a multiplicity of various
groups, some of which aren't even Republicans, but who think they can
control the Republican Party. And some of which have been good
think-tanks in the past, but now are losing their reputation because of
some of this radicalness...
TODD: Are you referring to Heritage?
HATCH:
Well yeah! Of course I am. Heritage used to be the conservative
organization helping Republicans and helping conservatives and helping
us to be able to have the best intellectual conservative ideas. There's a
real question on the minds of many Republicans now, and I'm not just
thinking for myself, for a lot of people - is Heritage going to go so
political that it doesn't amount to anything anymore? I hope not. I'm
going to try to help survive and do well. But right now I think it's in
danger of losing its clout and its power around Washington, DC.
Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.): "The reality is there's a much larger population within our caucus that recognizes reality for what it is."
* * *
THE WE-WILL-RISE-AGAIN REBELS
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.): Said that the agreement will "get us into Round 2. See, we're going to start this all over again.”
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho):
"I'm more upset with my Republican conference, to be honest with you…If
anybody should be kicked out, it's probably those Republicans—and not
Speaker Boehner—who are unwilling to keep the promises they made to
American people."
Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kans.):
"I would say the surrender caucus is the whiner caucus, and all they do
is whine about the battle, as if they thought being elected to
Washington was going to be an easy job."
Erick Erickson, editor in chief of RedState:
"We must advance. Two Republicans in the Senate caused this fight that
their colleagues would have surrendered on more quickly but for them.
Imagine a Senate filled with more. We have an opportunity to replace
Mitch McConnell in Kentucky with a better conservative. We should do
that…as more Americans watch Obamacare fail them through the Republican
primary season, conservatives will be able to put the focus on
Republicans who funded Obamacare instead of fighting it. Whether they
like it or not, Republicans in Congress will find their names on ballots
in 2014. They cannot hide or escape fate."
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.):
"Absolutely, I think [the shutdown and debt ceiling fight were] worth
it! It's been worth it because what we did is we fought the right
fight."
Sen. David Vitter (R-La.):
"My No Obamacare Exemption for Washington language has been blocked out
by Harry Reid, Barrack Obama and others who want to keep their special
subsidy. But it's not going away and neither am I."
Americans for Prosperity:
"Our activists are more engaged than ever in this fight, and we intend
to hold politicians accountable for their promise to stop overspending."
Michael Needham, Heritage Action for America president:
"I admire what the House has done in the last couple weeks. It's
unfortunate that the Senate hasn't been responsive to the American
people…and really has undercut the House throughout the last two weeks."
http://youtu.be/UkBQRCZ1PEo
Published on Oct 16, 2013
Heritage Action CEO Mike Needham
discusses House and Senate budget deals and Obamacare. He explains what
Heritage Action is doing to fight on behalf of the millions of
Americans who oppose Obamacare.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas): Called
the agreement "a bad deal," and when asked whether Congress would be
back in the same situation in a few months, he didn't hesitate: "Yes."
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah):
"The media keeps asking, was it worth it? My answer is that it is
always worth it to do the right thing. Fighting against an abusive
government in defense of protecting our individual rights and freedoms
is always the right thing…In Washington, victories are rarely immediate
and very few are permanent. Obamacare wasn't enacted overnight and it
won't be repealed overnight. We must remind the American people of the
harmful effects of this law at every opportunity."
Matt Kibbe, FreedomWorks president and CEO:
"Republican leadership has completely lost its way. Not only is this
proposal a full surrender—it's a complete surrender with presents for
the Democrats."
The Tea Party Patriots:
"The Senate deal is a complete sellout. Speaker Boehner and the House
should stand firm and reject this deal to reign [sic] in the Executive
branch's power before it is too late…The House 'Leadership' must stop
playing 'flinch' with themselves, and instead, play hardball with the
White House, the Senate, and the House."
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas):
"The American people rose up and spoke with an overwhelming voice and
at least at this stage Washington isn't listening to them…But this
battle will continue."
