It's been 108 days since the Republican Congress allowed funding to expire for the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers and only Republicans can be this monstrous.
Oh, and note that that's six years of CHIP funding, when the Congressional Budget Office has told them they can pass a 10-year funding extension and save the government $6 billion. They're not only monsters, they're monsters who can't do math.
They believe that this will force Democrats to vote for the continuing resolution without an agreement on the Dream Act and immigration. Implied in this is a willingness to shoot the CHIP hostage, to just write it off if Democrats don't capitulate, even while they load it up with other Obamacare sabotage measures.
Democrats need to call their bluff. The fact that they are using CHIP shows it is also important to them. That they don't want to be taking health coverage and are away from 9 million kids and catch the heat for doing it. A stand-alone, clean CHIP funding bill would pass in minutes, in both chambers. It needs to be done on its own.
Democrats should force the issue. Make them do it. Make them use their majority to negotiate responsibly or face the consequences.
Jam the phone lines of House and Senate Republicans. Call (202) 224-3121, and tell them to stop holding kids hostage and to pass a clean funding bill for CHIP and community health centers.