House Republicans on Thursday began a nearly two-week recess as they sought to solidify their political standing at home and clear the way for intense public scrutiny of Obamacare’s troubled rollout.
Still smarting from a politically damaging government shutdown that hogged the spotlight and obscured problems with the Affordable Care Act, House Republicans have deliberately shifted strategies. Rather than instigate high-stakes, politically risky confrontations with President Obama, they have embraced a more traditional, low-key approach that focuses on achieving incremental conservative reforms. This legislative strategy has a second, equally important purpose: It’s unlikely to distract from the GOP's aggressive investigation into Obamacare’s error-plagued implementation.
“People are focused on how bad Obamacare is. There’s no sense in putting up hyperpartisan bills that take attention away from that,” a senior Republican House aide told the Washington Examiner.
Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., described the reoriented House GOP game plan this way: “In many respects, what I would characterize this period as is ... getting back to governing.”
Since the 16-day government shutdown ended on Oct. 17, House Republicans have passed a collection of largely noncontroversial bills like the Retail Investor Protection Act and the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2013, among others. None were crafted with an eye toward grabbing headlines and none are the sort that fuel a political movement. But for Republicans, that’s by design.
During the shutdown, public polls showed that voters soured on the Republican Party in part because they viewed the GOP as putting ideology ahead of governing. Because they run the House, Republicans have a responsibility for some of the mundane aspects of running the government, and they have attempted late this month to satisfy that charge while using it as a vehicle to enact conservative reforms that might attract bipartisan support.
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