The White House is ramping up it’s effort to win the public relations war over a possible government shutdown over defunding Planned Parenthood, issuing statements and fundraising over the potential budget showdown this fall.
Presidential press secretary Josh Earnest began his daily briefing with reporters Thursday by urging blasting Republicans for showing “no interest” in negotiating with Democrats to find “common ground” and fund the government to avoid a shutdown.
“House Republicans are promoting a plan to eliminate women’s access to healthcare and shutdown the government,” Earnest said. “This is a strategy, I would note, that was supported by a preponderance of the GOP candidates [for president] at the Reagan Library [debate] last night.”
Democrats are trying to use the potential for a government shutdown this fall to raise money, with the help of President Obama.
In an email to Democratic supporters Thursday, Obama used Wednesday night’s GOP debate in which “Republican candidates tried to explain why one of them should be the next person to lead this country,” to urge the GOP-led Congress to demonstrate leadership “right now” and pass appropriations bills to keep the government up and running.
“Republicans have an opportunity to show some leadership right now — in this very moment,” Obama wrote in the email. “With Congress back in session, it’s time for the GOP to do some work.
“They’ve got to pass a budget by the end of the month — a budget with no strings or nonsense attached — or they’ll be shutting down the government for the second time in two years,” he said.
In mentioning “strings attached,” Obama was referring to some Republican calls to shut down the government over the fight to defund Planned Parenthood. Conservatives in the House and Senate are urging their leaders to force the president to veto appropriations bills with the defunding rider attached.
Those conservatives are getting a boost from some top-tier GOP presidential contenders backing them on their willingness to shut down the government over the Planned Parenthood issue, including Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Carly Fiorina.
Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they aren’t willing to shut down the government and need to demonstrate to the American people ahead of the critical 2016 elections that they can avoid Washington crises and keep the government funded.
Polls increasingly show that the majority of the American public would blame the GOP for a government shutdown, a dynamic that Obama appears to be trying to exploit in the fundraising email.
“And let me be clear,” he wrote. “A government shutdown would be completely irresponsible. Congress can pass a budget that invests in American families, in our schools, in our roads, in our military, and in all the things that truly make this country great.
“That’s a budget I’d be more than happy to sign. But instead of trying to find ways for us to move forward together, some folks are threatening to shut down the government because I won’t accept a budget that hurts the middle class or makes it harder for women to access health care services they need by defunding Planned Parenthood,” he said.
Conservatives want to transfer the hundreds of millions of public dollars that Planned Parenthood receives every year to other women’s health organizations that do not perform abortions or sell fetal tissue.
The president ends the email with a fundraising pitch, telling supporters that if they want a Congress that “won’t play politics with people’s lives,” they need to elect more Democrats.
He then asks for a donation of $10, $25, $50, $100, $200 or another amount and provides a link to the Democratic National Committee website to make the payment.
