Candy (Miller) vs. Sandy (Levin) on government shutdown

Congresswoman Candy Miller seems to be an unlikely candidate to join the Republican mini-revolt in the House, where some GOP lawmakers are calling for an end to the government shutdown. At the same time, Macomb County’s other representative, Democratic Congressman Sandy Levin, shows no signs of backing down or supporting any alterations to Obamacare.

Miller, a Harrison Township Republican, is following the (tea) party line, claiming that the GOP-controlled House has “once again acted in a bipartisan manner and responded to the calls of the American people to keep the government open and protect them from the Obamacare train wreck.”

Here is a sampling of the comments made by Miller over the past two days:

“For the last several days the U.S. House of Representatives (has) sent bipartisan bill after bipartisan bill to the Senate to seek common ground and keep the government open only to have the Senate refuse to negotiate and reject each bill along party line votes. 

“… House Republicans are only seeking fundamental fairness for the American people.  I will continue to reach out my hand to find common ground and it is my sincere hope that at some point Senate Democrats will take hold.”

“… No one wants a government shutdown.  In our great republic, when the two houses of Congress disagree on an issue, that legislation is sent to a conference committee where both sides compromise and come to an equitable agreement that can be passed in both houses. 

“Tonight the House voted to fully fund the federal government and provide every American with a one year exemption from the individual mandate in ObamaCare that forces them to purchase government approved insurance they may not want, or can’t afford, or face a tax penalty.  This waiver is similar to the one year delay in the employer mandate that President Obama gave to big business earlier this year. 

“… Amazingly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called the idea to force Congress to live under the same rules as every other American forced into the Obamacare exchanges ‘mean spirited’ and ‘a ridiculous policy rider that is dead on arrival.’ 

“The House has attempted three times to send legislation to the Senate to avert a government shutdown, and each time the Senate has said no, they will not negotiate.” 

Meanwhile, Levin, a Royal Oak Democrat who represents most of Macomb County, said this:

“Speaker Boehner faced a challenge: bring up the Senate bill to fund the government so the entire House could work its will or succumb to pressure from the far right of his own party who have threatened to take this nation over the cliff in blind rage fed by their rigid ideology. The Republican Speaker has chosen to take the nation over the cliff. The harm will hit every corner of our nation, from the civilians helping to run the Pentagon to the patients seeking care at the National Institutes of Health to the hundreds of thousands of families who receive federal child care assistance.”