| Morning Jolt
. . . with Jim Geraghty October 1, 2013 Good Obamacare-Exchange-Launch, Government-Shutdown Morning! Bethany Mandel: "Woke up to everyone talking shutdown. Not a single tweet yet about Obamacare exchanges. Congrats." If signups under the new Obamacare exchanges are low, the administration will blame the coverage of the shutdown for drowning out the news that they're open, not tech issues or consumer disinterest in expensive, lousy choices. Of course, if we on the right wanted people to notice and talk about the tech issues and lousy choices, there's another big topic taking up air time, front-page space, and people's attention . . . We will see if the government shutdown has a lasting impact on Republican fortunes. But those who argue that it wouldn't represent a major risk for the party were whistling past the graveyard: American voters oppose 72 – 22 percent Congress shutting down the federal government to block implementation of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Voters also oppose 64 – 27 percent blocking an increase in the nation's debt ceiling as a way to stop Obamacare, the independent Quinnipiac University poll finds. American voters are divided on Obamacare, with 45 percent in favor and 47 percent opposed, but they are opposed 58 – 34 percent to Congress cutting off funding for the health care law to stop its implementation. President Barack Obama gets a negative 45 – 49 percent overall job approval rating, compared to his 46 – 48 percent score August 2. American voters disapprove 74 – 17 percent of the job Republicans in Congress are doing, their lowest score ever, and disapprove 60 – 32 percent of the job Democrats are doing. Here's the real problem: "Looking at the 2014 Congressional races, voters pick a generic Democrat over a generic Republican candidate 43 – 34 percent, the widest Democratic margin measured so far." There's still a lot of road ahead between now and November 2014. But if this ends with House Republicans passing a clean continuing resolution . . . well, we could have had that solution a few days ago -- getting the same disappointing result for the Right, but without taking the hit for the government shutdown. If this ends with Harry Reid and President Obama accepting the full application of Obamacare's rules to Congress, or with the medical-device tax repealed, then it might be worth the political hit from a few days of a government shut down. Otherwise, we're left with the same difficult question raised yesterday: what does the Right get out of a government shutdown that made this level of brinksmanship so necessary? Imagine That; Obama Was Dishonest About the Shutdown's Impact on Veterans Late Monday afternoon, President Obama said in his government-shutdown demagoguery and scaremongering statement: Vital services that seniors and veterans, women and children, businesses and our economy depend on would be hamstrung. Business owners would see delays in raising capital, seeking infrastructure permits, or rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy. Veterans who've sacrificed for their country will find their support centers unstaffed. I know it will stun you to learn that what the president said isn't true. Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America's Carlisle Williams wrote in to Campaign Spot Monday night, "I'm sure you caught the reference to veterans in Obama's speech today -- the reality for vets is that VA health care is protected. In 2009, Congress passed a law to fund the VA one year in advance, allowing VA health care to be funded for an additional year beyond the government shut down. All VA medical appointment and prescription drug phone lines will be active during the shutdown as well." Over on the IAVA site, they further explain: All payments for the month of October are already out. VA benefits are protected and should go out during a shutdown. However, the VA recently announced that if the shutdown lasts longer than 2-3 weeks, the VA might not have enough cash on hand to pay benefits in November. If you filed a claim before the shutdown, the VA will continue to process it, but expect there to be some delay. While the VA employees that are working on your claim are protected from the shutdown, many of the information sources that they use to develop your claim are not. This may slow the process down. Does that mean that I won't get my benefits in November? Possibly. The VA has not given any specifics on what will happen if the shutdown continues for the next few weeks, and they run out of cash on hand. And while the members of our military are thankfully getting paid during this colossal cluster you-know-what, that doesn't mean their daily life will continue unaffected: Military hospitals and clinics should remain open. However, expect many MWR (Morale, Welfare, and Recreation) and community services (like commissaries) to be either closed or limiting operations. Your chain of command will have detailed information about what is happening on your local base. Say, Why Should Members of Congress Collect Theirs During Shutdown? Monday Night, Ted Cruz issued this statement: "Harry Reid should not force a government shutdown. I hope that Reid stops refusing to negotiate and works with the House to avoid a government shutdown, and, at the same time, prevent the enormous harms that Obamacare is inflicting on the American people. "If, however, Harry Reid forces a government shutdown, I intend to donate my salary to charity for each day the government is shut down. Elected leaders should not be treated better than the American people, which is precisely why hardworking Americans deserve the same Obamacare exception that President Obama has already granted Members of Congress." The man knows how to maneuver at every moment. Now every lawmaker has to do the same, or they look selfish. Coming Soon to Virginia: A State-Government Shutdown? It's an audacious approach of the Republican Party of Virginia and its allies: contend that Terry McAuliffe will shut down the government of Virginia if he's elected. Bearing Drift first noticed two weeks ago: According to this Washington Post story, Terry McAuliffe said not once, but twice that he ". . . will not sign a budget in Virginia unless it includes the Medicaid expansion." The GOP reads this as a threat to shut down state government unless he gets his way. The McAuliffe campaign brushes it all aside as just another instance of Terry showing how much he cares. Bollocks. McAuliffe put down a marker and he knows it. In 2012, Senate Democrats threatened to bring the state to a grinding halt because they felt cheated on committee chairmanships. In the most recent session, Democrats sought to gum-up the budget works again, this time over Medicaid expansion. Now, the Republican Party of Virginia is amplifying the message: "It's astonishing that Terry McAuliffe has the audacity to simultaneously insist that he'd hold Virginia's budget hostage to get his way while at the same time urging compromise in Washington," said Virginia Republican Party Chairman Pat Mullins. "McAuliffe's shameless duplicity and lack of knowledge about Virginia prove that he is unwilling and unable to fight for voters in the Commonwealth, as Ken Cuccinelli has done his entire career." And then at 11 p.m., Cuccinelli sent out this e-mail to his list: Like all of you, I am anxiously following the news out of Washington tonight as it becomes increasingly likely that the federal government will shut down for the first time since 1996. I have made clear from the beginning that a government shutdown is not an outcome anyone wants. There are far too many Virginians who would experience significant financial difficulties if that happens. I believe it incumbent upon both parties to work out a solution that keeps the federal government open and makes sure that Virginians are able to stay in their jobs and provide for their families. What is perhaps most remarkable about the Congressional impasse has been the utter refusal on the part of Democrats like President Obama and Senator Reid to sit at the negotiating table. Democrats --my opponent chief among them -- are far more interested in scoring political points than working to find a solution to the impasse. Indeed, they are willing to do everything possible to distract from the brokenness of the ObamaCare law that they are willing to level any attack imaginable. Of course, no one should be surprised that Terry McAuliffe is once again seeking to take political shots over the impending shutdown. This is the same Terry McAuliffe who over a lifetime of influence peddling has redefined what it means to be a Washington insider. This is the same Terry McAuliffe who repeatedly said he would take a position that would lead to a shutdown of Virginia's government unless he didn't get his way on Medicaid expansion. Indeed, this is the same Terry McAuliffe who just last night told The Washington Post that he "sided with Democrats who refuse to bargain" over ObamaCare. ADDENDA: Like I said last night, "we need John Kerry to blurt out a shutdown-averting idea off the cuff that Vladimir Putin will immediately implement."
NRO Digest — October 1, 2013 Today on National Review Online . . . To read more, visit www.nationalreview.com
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