Pop quiz, hotshot!  What’s more damaging but just as ineffective as voting to repeal Obamacare 40 times?

As the House Republicans struggle to realize their limitations over a Piña Colada while on August recess, GOP members of the Senate have decided upon another method of attack on the President’s landmark healthcare law.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee has assembled a clown car of GOP Senators, including Texas’ Ted Cruz and Kentucky’s Rand Paul, who have threatened to block any Government funding bill that includes funds for the implementation of Obamacare.

Without the passing of a new funding bill by September 30^th, the Government could shutdown.

Somehow all 15 of Lee’s supporters are ignorant of the fact that even if a government shutdown were to occur, it will not stop Obamacare from moving forward.  However, this has not prevented potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate Marco Rubio from enthusiastically joining Lee’s wolf pack.

On Facebook alone, I have seen numerous ads for Sen. Rubio’s page within my newsfeed, all of which promoting the defunding of Obamacare.

Rubio is not just barking up the wrong tree with this notion; he’s in a fucking concrete jungle.

The Florida Senator has seemingly based his entire social media presence on defunding the legislation.  Rather than focus on jobs or the bi-partisan immigration bill (of which he is a part of), he has made his biggest goal one that is simply unattainable.

Why would he do this?  Possibly because Obamacare looks like it is working.

Even though this is great news for the American people, it’s possibly the worst thing that could happen to the GOP.

Every negative, fear-mongering line spouted by the GOP in regards to the evils of Obamacare since 2009 is turning out to be bullshit.  Let’s use Sen. Rubio as an example.

In an interview with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly, Marco laid out his case against the healthcare reform.

“Every single day we’re now seeing new news reports about the harm it is doing, particularly to middle-class and working-class Americans.”  Actually, the latest studies show that a family of four earning less than $94,000 and singles earning less than $46,000 will be eligible for subsidies to assist in the costs of healthcare.  This will apply to 25.7 million people. 

“It’s going to force them into exchanges that don’t even exist.  It’s going to raise premiums for these small businesses…” Not only do the exchanges exist, the state programs currently rolled out have featured lower than expected costs.  The New York exchange program recently revealed an up to 50% cut in health plan costs.  Get another bottle of water, Marco.

Rubio’s second concern in the above quote is a GOP favored scare tactic that the Act is going to hurt small business.  However, the non-partisan Urban Institute found in a study last year that if the Obamacare law had been in full effect in 2012 small businesses with 100 employees or less would have seen total costs decreased by 1.4%.

Attributing to the lowered costs in the Urban Institute study are the health insurance marketplaces created by Obamacare.   Under Washington’s health insurance marketplace, Kaiser Permanente, United Healthcare and Aetna have all lowered costs for small businesses.

When discussing the Act’s effects on small business, Rubio is careful to not mention that businesses with less than 50 employees are exempt from the provision to provide coverage.

What could we look forward to if Rubio and this faction of the GOP got their way?   Let’s take a look at the 1995 & 1996 Government shutdowns for a glimpse:

• 800,000 people were furloughed.
• Toxic waste clean up was halted on 609 sites.
• NOAA’s climate research was shutdown.
• The Centers for Disease Control halted disease surveillance.
• U.S. Border Patrol canceled hiring and recruitment of 400 new agents.
• Delinquent child-support cases were delayed.
• National Park Service closed 368 sites (hurting local economies).
• Veterans’ health and welfare services were reduced.

And after all of this… Obamacare will still be unaffected and every single Republican that has foolishly signed on to Mike Lee’s coalition knows it.

Sounds pretty damn unpatriotic to me.