On The Verge Of Another Government Shutdown

It’s a familiar story in Congress. Less than five working days before the end of the fiscal year, the GOP legislative majority is immersed in another internal war that threatens to shut down the government.

Once again, the most conservative sector, close to the Tea Party, is trying to impose its agenda in spite of not having any chance to bring it to President Obama’s desk. The proposals to defund Obamacare, against the executive actions on immigration, and the demands to make selective budget cuts, represent the past failures brought about by the confrontational strategy of the GOP House majority.

Now the dispute revolves around Planned Parenthood, which has been the target of Republican attacks since the appearance of controversial videos that allegedly show the distribution of fetal organs. The organization receives $500 million annually – mostly trough Medicaid- for reproductive health services for women, abortion accounting for only 3% of their activity. However, in the Republicans’ eye the organization has always meant public funding of abortion, and the newly promoted videos have turned it into the cause du jour.

The Republican leadership in Congress face again the dilemma of whether to seek a temporal agreement with the Democrats to avoid a government shutdown – which for the most conservative amounts to treason – or adopting an intransigent stance that will harm the party’s image. To make things worse, two senators running for president, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, are more interested in scoring points with their base looking uncompromising than in supporting a leadership that wants to avoid a shutdown.

The GOP internal divisions have been paralyzing Congress for years. Senate’s Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is the symbol of futility, as he has broken the record for the most defeated bills returning to the floor for a vote. This waste of time denotes a preference for banging their head against the wall with measures that please the most extremists, instead of legislating through consensus, defending their principles while thinking about the country as a whole.

Again the country is on the verge of a government shutdown that would punish the economy, due to an artificial crisis brought about by the internal Republican differences in Congress. Hopefully, common sense will prevail and make way for a bipartisan temporal extension until next year.