Can combining Planned Parenthood defunding with yet another Obamacare repeal convince enough of Speaker John Boehner's problem children in the House—and Ted Cruz!—to not shutdown government? Leadership
seems to think so. Here's the big plan—combine the two in a reconciliation bill that will only need a simple majority vote in the Senate to pass and go to the president's desk. Where it will go down in veto flames. But the point isn't to actually do anything, anyway.
In private discussions, the leaders are looking at using reconciliation procedures to let a Planned Parenthood bill come up for a filibuster-proof Senate vote, the aides said.
Handling the issue that way would postpone the fight over federal funding for the medical services that Planned Parenthood provides to the poor, and deprive Democrats of being able to accuse the majority party of threatening to shut down the government to make a stand against an abortion provider. […]
Since there’s not enough time to deal with both reconciliation and the stopgap spending bill in September, leaders might offer a public statement committing to using reconciliation to defund Planned Parenthood this year, one aide said. If rank-and-file Republicans accept such an assurance, the leaders would be able to focus on other aspects of their negotiations with the White House.
Brilliant! Except for maybe this part: "Some Republican presidential candidates, including Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, have demanded that legislation to fund federal agencies after Sept. 30 include a provision barring abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood from receiving federal money." Rubio, maybe he goes along with this. Cruz? Not in a million years would he give up the opportunity to talk the House problem children into another shutdown. He's already in all-out war with Mitch McConnell, and his House acolytes are still talking about a coup against Boehner. They'll go along with this plan? Not likely.
Cruz will point to the fact that it will be way too easy for President Obama just to veto a reconciliation bill, and that there's no way Republicans muster the votes for an override. All of which is true. He'll argue that the only way to achieve their aim is crazy government shutdown brinksmanship—bringing Obama and Senate Democrats to their knees in the face of catastrophe so they give in. Which didn't really work last time Cruz tried it, in 2013 when he goaded House Republicans into a 16-day shutdown that achieved them nothing except for making the public hate them more.
But hey, at least Boehner and McConnell will look like they're trying to do something to lead. Not that they've had much luck in creating that appearance either, so far. If the country doesn't go bankrupt and shutter its doors between now and January 2017 it will be a minor miracle.