A large majority of people recently polled say they do not want the government shut down over the Planned Parenthood defunding issue.
In a recent CNN/ORC survey, 71% of those polled said they are against the recent push by some conservative Republicans in Congress, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), to defund the women’s health organization or they will shut down the government. Twenty-two percent said defunding Planned Parenthood was more important than keeping the government running, and five percent said they want the clinics defunded but not at the expense of a government shut-down.
The controversial organization was caught in several “gotcha” videos that allegedly show Planned Parenthood officials selling aborted fetal body parts to interested parties. This caused anger among pro-lifers and conservatives. Sen. Cruz called Planned Parenthood a “criminal enterprise” and blamed President Obama for the situation because he backs the women’s health organization.
“What Barack Obama is doing for Planned Parenthood is radical, it’s extreme, It’s unreasonable…It’s wrong for Barack Obama to threaten to shut down the government,” Cruz said in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In 2013, Republicans shut down the government over the budget battle and the public’s reaction was to blame them. Current GOP leadership in Congress is aware of this and has no interest in a repeat performance. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader, said he does not have the votes for a shutdown.