Ferris Bueller Explains The Government Shutdown
I am not going to sit on my ass as the events that affect me unfold to determine the course of my life.
It was just another boring day in Congress.
And a bill needed to be passed to keep funding the federal government.
Meet Ted Cruz.
Ted Cruz does not like playing by the rules and really hates Obamacare.
He decided that the defunding of Obamacare should be linked to the passage of this typically nonpartisan funding bill.
Cruz was joined in the effort by his girlfriends in the Senate, namely Mike Lee.
And though the probability of getting the defunding of Obamacare signed into law was 0.001%, Cruz proceeded.
Meet Cruz's overly cautious friend, Speaker of the House John Boehner.
Cruz and the tea party members in Congress had to convince Boehner to add the defunding Obamacare language to the government funding bill.
Since these bills originate in the House.
Meet President Obama.
Obama really does not like Cruz.
He REALLY does not want to defund Obamacare.
And has promised to veto any bill that does.
Here is the catch: If the funding bill does not pass before Oct. 1, it will launch the entire government into shutdown.
A government shutdown could mean a huge number of government workers would not be doing their jobs.
From CBS News: "Millions of federal workers deemed non-essential would be furloughed with no guarantee of back-pay. Social Security checks and veterans' benefits would still go to recipients, but they could go out late, since there would be fewer workers to process them. Additionally, passport and visa applications could be put on hold, as well as small business and home mortgage lending programs. National parks and museums would be closed."
Every person above has expressed that they want to keep the government running.
But they all have very different ways to get there.
Boehner originally did NOT want to tie the defunding of Obamacare to the funding bill.
But was eventually convinced after Cruz and the tea party protested strongly.
The measure passed the House even though Boehner knew it would complicate the process greatly.
That bill then went over to the Senate.
Meet Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
He is just trying to keep his classroom functioning.
It was Reid's job to strip the defunding Obamacare language out of the bill and keep Cruz from shenanigans.
But Cruz was not going to let this happen quietly.
At 2:41 p.m. on Tuesday, Cruz took over the Senate floor and started talking about how bad Obamacare was.
Shake it up baby, now.
And Ted Cruz's speech was like... (Please click play and scroll!)
3 p.m.–5 p.m.
5 p.m.–7 p.m.
7 p.m.–9 p.m.
9 p.m.–11 p.m.
11 p.m.–1 a.m.
1 a.m.–3 a.m.
3 a.m.–5 a.m.
5 a.m.–7 a.m.
7 a.m.–9 a.m.
9 a.m.–12 p.m.
The long speech against Obamacare ended after 21 hours.
Meet John McCain.
John McCain and most mainline Republicans were not behind Cruz's tactics and antics.
And when the vote finally came, Cruz lost by a lot.
And now the bill goes back to the House with the government shutdown only a few short days away.
Boehner has to corral a fighting Republican caucus to pass something they can all agree on.
And something that the president will sign in time to avoid the imminent government shutdown.
We will see what they come up with.
And Obama waits.
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Contact Benny Johnson at benny.johnson+DONE@buzzfeed.com.
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