Defunding Obamacare...?

Maybe the Republicans are getting a set of balls...finally.   The GOP unless they have principles will be in the wilderness crying because they are not being heeded.   President Obama and the democrats will demagogue the issues, they will play it the "Rich vs the rest of the nation" but they will not offer a plan of their own since it is easier to pass continuing resolution and play politics than actually try to solve any problems.

The Houston Chronicle suggests that the amendment being offered by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to delay funding for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, in the continuing resolution is starting to gain some support in the Senate. 

Other Republican conservatives have joined

The Houston Chronicle notes that a number of conservative senators have joined in support of Cruz's amendment, including Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. The continuing resolution will fund the government through the end of the fiscal year. Cruz's amendment is called "Restore Growth First" because it delays funding for Obamacare until economic growth in the United States rises to the historical average of 3.3 percent per year, according to a press release published by Breitbart News. Cruz does indicate that his ultimate goal is to see Obamacare repealed.

Mitch McConnell will support the amendment

The Washington Examiner reported that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., will support Cruz's amendment. While the Republican Senate caucus remains somewhat divided about what to do about Obamacare, with enthusiasm flagging among moderates for opposing the law, McConnell's support may provide some motivation for that faction of the Senate Republicans to get on board Cruz's amendment. The amendment, even if it comes up to a vote, is unlikely to pass. It is expected that the 55 senate Democrats will march in lockstep and will vote against the Cruz amendment. But the purpose is to force Democrats, especially vulnerable Red State senators who are up for re-election, to once again vote in favor of a law that Reason Magazine notes is becoming increasingly unpopular again after a brief spike in support after the November election.

Meanwhile, in the House
The House has sent mixed signals concerning Obamacare. After the House GOP leadership squashed an attempt by conservatives to defund Obamacare in its own version of the continuing resolution, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan has produced an FY2014 budget that assumes complete repeal of the health care law. The budget bill, which also reforms entitlements and taxes, may well pass the House but would unlikely get much approval in either the Democratic Senate and certainly not in the Obama White House. However, it is expected that the document will serve as a negotiation position with which House Republicans will use in talks with the White House to attempt -- once again -- to come up with a deal to fix the continuing budget deficit.
Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network