[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 134 (Wednesday, October 2, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S7106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, if it was not clear earlier this week 
why Republicans were asking to delay ObamaCare, it should be pretty 
clear to everybody this morning. The rollout of this thing made a trip 
to the DMV look like a good time. The word of the day was ``glitch.'' 
You could probably explain one or two of these glitches away, maybe 
three, but not glitches in Nebraska, Maryland, Florida, Wisconsin, 
Illinois, and in Kentucky--not glitches all across the country.
  Kentuckians who tried to log in yesterday got a message that read 
``server error.'' Let me translate that. It did not work. I mean, if 
the plural of anecdote is data, it seems to me the plural of glitch has 
to be systemic failure. This is the law that Washington Democrats were 
so adamant about unveiling yesterday, they were willing to shut down 
the government over it.
  Instead of agreeing to a couple of commonsense proposals related to 
this law, they stuck to their absolutist position: 100 percent of 
ObamaCare when and how they want it, no matter what. This, of course, 
unless the President thinks you are one of the chosen few who deserve a 
special break.
  So basically Washington Democrats shut down the government because 
they did not think middle-class Americans deserve the same kind of 
treatment as their employers, and because they did not think Congress 
should have to follow the same rules on ObamaCare exchanges as 
everybody else.
  These were fair things to ask for. They were reasonable. If the 
Democrats who run Washington could have brought themselves to that 
sensible position, they would have voted to keep the government open. 
But in the end, they got their shutdown, which they apparently think 
will help them politically. They held on to their absolutist position 
on ObamaCare regardless of the consequences for American families.
  Two days into this thing they still refuse to budge. The President 
reiterated again yesterday he is not interested in talking. The 
majority leader made it clear he is not interested in talking either. 
He shot down just about every attempt to engage in serious discussions 
with the House or with any one else for that matter.
  Look, this week Washington Democrats had a choice: Defend basic 
principles of fairness when it comes to ObamaCare or shut down the 
government. They chose the latter. It was the wrong decision, in my 
view. It is time for them to start finding solutions, to start talking, 
and put the interests of their constituents ahead of the interests of 
their party.

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