Day 6: Shutdown Drags On As Country Feels Effects of Citizens United

Day 6: Shutdown Drags On As Country Feels Effects of Citizens United:

Since the beginning of the government shutdown, radical Republicans have dictated the agenda for the rest of their party, unilaterally steering their party towards a prolonged shutdown in the effort to defund Obamacare. In day six of the closure of the Federal government, the cause of this rule by minority is becoming clear: the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission Supreme Court decision.

The case, familiar to many during the election season, not only radically altered campaign financing, but has changed how a political party decides its priorities. Instead of depending on polling of its constituency or whether a vote is better for the party as a whole, spending by the billionaire Koch brothers (unleashed by the Citizens United decision) has given Republicans two options: Vote to defund Obamacare or get primaried.

In an article in The New York Times today, the government shutdown is traced to a meeting of conservative lawmakers, along with the Koch brothers, who came up with a plan to defund Obamacare through any means necessary, including a prolonged shutdown of the Federal government.