Jindal On Government Shutdown: GOP Should Not Take 'Options Off The Table'
So much for Gov. Bobby Jindal's advice that the Republicans need to "stop being the stupid party" because he's right in there with the Teahadists in the House on a government shutdown.
As we've said before here, good luck with selling that to the public. They can't even sell it to their fellow Republicans who know better. After being so terribly kind as to at least say that he didn't think Republicans should be trying to impeach President Obama and playing the false equivalency game with whether Bush deserved the calls for it he received, Jindal told Gregory that shutting down the government ought to at least be an "option" they're willing to consider.
DAVID GREGORY: On Obamacare, you even have the speaker of the House saying, "The president's not going to lose his signature achievement." That efforts to defund Obamacare, even to threaten a government shutdown, simply are not going to work.
GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL: Well, look, one, I don't know why we would negotiate with ourselves. This is not about politics. I think Obamacare is bad for our healthcare system. My background's in healthcare policy. I care deeply about healthcare. The president himself said, "If you like your healthcare plan, you'll be able to keep it." He said, "If you like your doctor, you'll be able to keep it."
It turns out that's not going to be true for millions of Americans. He said he was going to bend the cost curve down. Turns out premiums are going up by some estimates as much as 30% across the country and in certain markets and some much more than that.
So I don't know why we would take any option off the table. I don't think this president or the Democrats are going to want to shut down the government. That's a false choice. That's a threat coming from them. I think Republicans should use every tactic, every option we can to repeal and replace Obamacare.
DAVID GREGORY: Well, what would the impact of shutting down the government mean?
GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL: Again, look, I think this is a false threat from the other side. I don't think you have to shut down the government to repeal and replace Obamacare. But I don't think Republicans should be taking options off the table. I think we should be fighting to defund it. The reality is-- is that let's have that debate. I don't think Republicans should be negotiating with ourselves and saying, "We're not going to do this, we're not going to do that." Let's look at every option and get rid of Obamacare.