Catanese: “The GOP Shutdown Scale”

By Dave Catanese

On the eve of an increasingly likely government shut-down, here’s a look at how the potential Republican 2016ers have calibrated their positioning, in order from the most staunchly opposed to the most willing to flirt with closing down Capitol Hill.

Chris Christie:

“I don’t think you hear responsible Republican leaders advocating a shutdown of the government,” Christie said. He noted that a shutdown, “by definition, is a failure.”

Rick Perry:

Perry cautioned against the idea of shutting down the government over Obamacare, calling it “a bit nonsensical.”  ”I don’t think it’s a good option,” Perry said. “There’s still time to sit down and try to fix Obamacare.”

Jeb Bush:

 ”. . . Politically it’s quite dicey for the Republican Party.”

Scott Walker:

“I believe the Affordable Care Act is anything but affordable, and will have a negative impact on the economy of my state.  But I don’t extend that to the point that we should shut down the government over it.  I support limited government,” he added.  ”But I want the government left to work.”

Jon Huntsman:

“Republicans know this is a loser, so they’re going to have to learn the lessons of this whole episode, and that will be you can’t have an all-or-nothing approach,” said the 2012 GOP presidential candidate.

Paul Ryan:

“Mr. Ryan, meanwhile, has seemed uncomfortable with a tactic of stripping funding from the health law. He has been quietly telling fellow Republicans to pick their battles, urging them to avoid a shutdown . . . Mr. Ryan has beenalmost entirely silent.” 

Bobby Jindal:

Asked whether the GOP should be willing to risk a government shutdown,Jindal didn’t directly answer the question.  ”I don’t think we should negotiate with ourselves and take anything off the table,” said Jindal.  He had previously said he didn’t believe Republicans needed to shutdown the government to repeal Obamacare.

Rand Paul: 

“The president’s the one saying, ‘I will shut down government if you don’t give me everything I want on Obamacare,’” Paul said. “That, to me, is the president being intransigent and being unwilling to compromise.”

Marco Rubio:

Rubio responded by calling the likely impasse “not really a shutdown, more of a slowdown — but not a good way to do business.”

Rick Santorum:

Rick Santorum on Monday declared that he “would be with Ted Cruz” when it came to shutting down the government in order to defund President Barack Obama’s health care reform law because “you have to make people uncomfortable.”