Bob Woodward: Republicans using ‘extortion and blackmail’ in Obamacare fight

Appearing on Meet the Press this Sunday morning, veteran journalist Bob Woodward charged that a group of House Republicans are using “extortion and blackmail methods” with their threats of a government shutdown unless Obamacare is defunded.

“This is really serious,” Woodward said. “Back in 2011 when the [debt ceiling] crisis visited them, the Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner was running around saying, ‘If we don’t fix this, we could trigger a depression worse than the 1930s.’ When I talked to Obama about this, he said it was the most intense three weeks of his presidency.”

“The Republicans are out here — a group of them in the House — essentially using extortion and blackmail methods to say, ‘If we don’t defund Obamacare, we’re not going to do the routine things of government,” he added.

Conservative pundit Kathleen Parker characterized the situation as more of a “game of chicken,” and said that even the GOP doesn’t really think Obamacare will ever be defunded.

“At some point the Republicans are going to have to blink, and they’re going to fund it,” she said. “If they pass a bill that doesn’t include funding for Obamacare, then the Senate won’t pass the bill. Somebody’s going to blink. We’re not going to shut down the government.”

Watch the exchange in the video below.

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