I wrote the other day that both Republican Reps. Tom Cotton and Tim Griffin appear to be engaging in word games that end in the same outcome — a government shutdown unless Obamacare is defunded or radically impaired. A news release on the jump details Tom Cotton’s preference to let the chips fall if he doesn’t get his way on health care, despite the fact that many Republicans think such an idea is nutty.
But let me give a little more attention to U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin. His office rarely communicates with me but they have here and I want them to be heard. Generally, Griffin finds it much more congenial to leak material to a daily newspaper reporter in return for his being quoted generously on viewing with alarm the latest bad news to emerge about ExxonMobil, one of Griffin’s best buddies until it smeared Mayflower with tar sands.
I mentioned Griffin Tuesday, particularly this comment he made on Twitter:
GOP Governors and Rep. Tim Griffin agree that shutting govt down not solution to spending problems. Repeal Obamacare! Reform govt!
I observed Wednesday that Griffin and Cotton seemed to be positioning themselves to blame Obama if a shutdown occurred. THEY don’t want a shutdown. But if it does, it’s because their preferable solution — repeal of Obamacare — didn’t happen.
Today, I got a rare communication from the Griffin press secretary, Matt Wolking. Here’s how it went: