Posted on 10/02/2013 2:05:34 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
BOSTON -- A sharp-tongued Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday said he was "embarrassed" by having to explain the government shutdown to a group of visiting students from London this week, and hopes voters punish Republicans at the polls next year.
"I think tea party Republicans are playing a big game with little people and I hope God forgives them for that, but I hope voters won't," Patrick told reporters after celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.
Well into the second full day of the federal government shutdown, the Democratic governor said his party shouldn't have to compromise by acceding to Republican demands that the Affordable Care Act be defunded or delayed in order for the government to continue providing services to the American people, many of which help low-income residents, students and small businesses.
The governor said his administration is still trying to decipher the full impact of the shutdown in Massachusetts, which has closed national parks and museums, threatened the processing of student and small businesses loans, and could impact the delivery of low-income home heating assistance as the mercury begins to drops.
Patrick said his administration would soon have to "make some decisions" about the more than 4,000 state workers paid fully or partially with federal grants, and his office said they anticipate having more details later in the day after the governor attends a meeting on the issue.
"The people who have engineered this are the small number of tea party, hard-right Republicans in the House caucus and they want this. They want the government to be shut down. They don't, in many respects, fundamentally believe in the role of government. If they are the impediment to the normal function of the federal government and supply of services to the American people, it's very hard to see how this impasse gets broken," Patrick said.
President Barack Obama summoned Democrat and Republican leaders to the White House for a meeting on the shutdown later Wednesday afternoon, but few have hopes for a quick resolution with both sides entrenched in their positions and heated rhetoric reaching a boiling point.
Asked whether Democrats should a cut a deal with House Republicans, Patrick responded quickly: "No. There are not two sides to blame in Washington. You can't cut a deal over something that's been resolved."
Patrick said he met on Tuesday with a group visiting from the London Business School, and the conversation turned to the government shutdown and continuing political gridlock in the capital.
"Frankly, to me, it was embarrassing. We're a first-world country and the notion that a small number of people in the Republican caucus in the House can shut down the functioning of government in a totally irresponsible way over an issue that has been resolved is unacceptable," Patrick said.
Republicans control the U.S. House and Democrats run the Senate. Senate Democrats and President Obama have urged the House to pass a "clean" bill to keep funding government operations, but Speaker John Boehner has refused and House Republicans are insisting on changes to the Affordable Care Act, which they say is a heavy-handed and expensive approach to expanding insurance access that is unaffordable and will hurt the economy.
Despite the ideological difference between the parties over Obamacare, the shutdown has not slowed the implementation of the law with state-based insurance exchanges opening around the country on Tuesday for individuals to begin enrolling in health plans.
The governor said the rollout of the new online exchange has gone "pretty smoothly" to date, and the volume of traffic to the site has been high but "nothing compared to other states that haven't had the experience we've had."
Though most Massachusetts residents already have health insurance, a little over 150,000 individuals with subsidized coverage through the Commonwealth Care program will have to reenroll before January in plans that conform to the Affordable Care Act standards. Another 100,000 individuals will be shifted from subsidized coverage into the state's Medicaid program known as MassHealth, while 45,000 uninsured people will become eligible for MassHealth for the first time.
"There are going to be hiccups and as long as people are patient, we have many months to get people signed up. As long as people are patient, we're certainly committed to smoothing it out," Patrick said.
"It is about making life better and more secure for millions of Americans," he said "There is nothing to compromise there."
Sorry, bub, but the bill’s coming due and the payers aren’t happy. Somebody is going to get punished by the voters all right. Guess who?
“”I think tea party Republicans are playing a big game with little people and I hope God forgives them for that”
What?? An idiot liberal believing in God? I thought their “god” was Odumbo?
They weren't screaming "It's The Law" when Obama had DHS stop actively securing and protecting our southern border, no longer detaining illegal immigrants for ICE.
We are going to punish them, Governor. We're going to send a boatload of them to D.C. in 2014 to serve their first terms in public office. We all know D.C. is a sewer pit; nobody sane wants to live there, or deal with the putrid corruption in the halls of Congress. But some will be called, and they will serve. I don't expect you to understand that, Governor.
Perfect!
The Original Boston Tea Party had the slogan: “NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION !”
Back then in the 1700’s the Colonists did not like Tyranny, and eventually went to War to rid themselves of it.
Today, low-information people, and their “Mainstream” Media’s attitude is: “Tyranny? Is that like “bad” or something?”
High-information people realize that we have had Tyranny imposed on us by our own NINE SUPREMES when they told us that ANY Administration can force us to buy anything they want us to buy as long as it is called a MANDATORY TAX.
The Obama Administration then decreed that the IRS would gather our personal medical information, administer and collect this MANDATORY TAX from us, and or punish us as they saw fit: WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.
A simple annual, or quarterly increase in the Insurance Premium is all that is needed to increase taxation by the Obama Administration that is not subject to the Constitutional “Advice and Consent” of the United States Congress.
To this point in time, the Obama Administration has been successful in depriving us of Representation in Congress while imposing a mandatory insurance tax on us.
The Obama Administration may call it “Forced Marketing,” but I call it TRYANY !
MANDATORY PURCHASE OF OBAMACARE MEDICAL INSURANCE IS “TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION !”
This from the minime who gave Massachusetts
Dookhan-level “justice” and a Mosque which
then blow up into the Boston Atrocity.
“Gov. Deval Patrick on Wednesday said he was “embarrassed” by having to explain the government shutdown to a group of visiting students from London this week”
Did you cry and wet your panties too, you little bitch?
I bet you were also embarrassed to explain that whole Breed’s and Bunker Hill thing too, Right? That’s assuming you even know what the hell you were talking about there.
He’s gonna make the PERFECT vp for Hillary.
Just call him “Baraq II”
I am sure Mr. Patrick was embarrassed when he tried to explain the Constitution and the way Americans have a free Government, Because he doesn’t have a clue.
Why should Republicans be punished, they are doing what needs to be done. They are doing what most Americans who work for a living want done.
Just because something is a law it doesn’t mean it cannot be changed. Especially a bad law that was pushed though in the middle of the night.
The Massachusetts Governor was lucky, he picked one ofthe only States in the Union where a total incompetent like him could be elected.
Hey Patrick, I hear in the N.E. there is no end date on late term Abortions.
How about sticking a set of scissors in your head for the sake of humanity?
He’s the worst governor we’ve ever had.
I’ve decided to go have my own bumpersticker made “OBAMACARE-TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION”
I love the smell of a good recall in the morning, smells like victory.
Dear Gov. Patrick...
You Liberals make us T.E.A. Members laugh our butts off..
cry me a River.
are your residents so poorly educated that they could not understand why Government is shut down? that looks bad on you. yep you should be embarrassed and ashamed...
EXCELLENT!
And with lil' Mickey ("let 'em rape Kitty") Dukakis as a measuring stick, that's saying a lot!
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