When you've lost the panel on a corporate-owned GOP talking point Sunday morning 'news' show, you know you've lost.
An ABC News panel on Sunday could not contain their laughter at a Republican congressman's straight-faced assertion that his party would be doing President Barack Obama a "favor" if it was successful in delaying the ability of millions of Americans to receive healthcare through the Affordable Care Act.
Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) repeated the talking point he was given by party leadership - that delaying Obamacare is politically doing a favor for President Obama and when the panel broke out in laughter at the very thought even he couldn't hide a smile at the realization that he knew what he was saying was bullshit but this time it wouldn't be allowed to pass like all their other bullshit always is.
Amash started out his speech by reiterating the Republican version of 'compromise' (give us what we want or we shoot the hostages):
"We're willing to compromise and part of that compromise means that when you want to borrow more money, your going to have to have some cuts in government," Amash explained. "And that's all Republicans are asking for. And we're not talking about draconian cuts."
"We're talking about delaying Obamacare for a year, which is something the president has asked for with the employer mandate. So, let's delay it for everyone."
The Michigan Republican added: "I think we're doing to president a favor if we delay it, the program is not ready to be implemented. If anything, the president should be asking us to delay it because because it's better for him politically."
Right. As if the GOP would ever do something as a 'favor' to the President. The panel wasn't buying it.
That remark drew spontaneous laughter from President George W. Bush’s former chief strategist, Matthew Dowd, and the other panelists.
"I don't thinks so," Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MA) chuckled. "The fact is we've voted 41 times to defund Obamacare. I mean, maybe 42 is a charm. I mean, I think the president is right that we can't negotiate over the debt ceiling. And we can't be irresponsible in shutting down the government."
And while managing to insist that the government could still pass legislation that didn't include funding Obamacare he gets the amnesia that affects all Republicans, i.e. that Obamacare already passed, both Houses of Congress, was signed by the President and ruled Constitutional by the Supreme Court and the point of a Republican House is not to undo all that:
"You can't start where the Democrats want us to start," he opined. "You have to start with a Republican proposal. We have a Republican majority [in the House] that was elected by Republicans. Let's start with a Republican proposal."
Watch the video (but please excuse the size - I still can't embed iframes so am doing the best I can by pasting the code into objects):