It doesn’t matter if Republicans ultimately win or lose in their fight to defund Obamacare. All that matters is that they played the game. Even if the public turns against them during a government shutdown and they’re forced to give in, the GOP base is already fired up.
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The defund movement has sparked a wave of grassroots enthusiasm that even the most mainstream of GOP leaders are paying attention to, with the ever-cautious Republican National Committee running Facebook messages in support of the strategy.
Donations to the grassroots groups leading this fight are pouring in and nearly everything these groups do seeks to milk more money to fund the fight. This isn’t some cynical ploy for cash either, it’s a reaction to a genuine groundswell of support and enthusiasm from the conservative grassroots.
Conservative groups aren’t like the left’s union allies, they can’t force people to fund their activism, so when they see a spark begin to catch they take action to fan the flames. Grassroots conservatives want Obamacare thrown in the trash bin of history as quickly as possible and the non-profit groups who carry their message to Washington are giving them a voice, and yes that requires money.
But that money isn’t a sign of some conservative conspiracy or ginned-up controversy, it’s a sign that the people giving it are passionate and want action. All over the country, grassroots conservatives are literally putting their money where their mouths are, giving millions to a host of right-wing groups so those groups can continue to lobby for an end to Obamacare.
Now, sometimes what those groups do isn’t pretty or even wise – nobody ever won a battle by shooting at his allies – but it is a reflection of what donors say they want. The conservative grassroots wants Republicans to pick a great big fight with Obama over health reform and they want that fight now, not in 2014 or 2016.
If the surge in donations weren’t enough, new polling from NBC and The Wall Street Journal show that independent Americans are leaning more strongly toward the GOP than they did in 2010 when the party swept Democrats out of power in the House. Further, America is the most conservative it’s been since the 1950’s giving yet more support to the grassroots’ effort for serious policy changes.
The 2014 elections are right around the corner and the GOP looks poised to make serious gains. With American independents behind them and the country in a historically-conservative mood the future does seem bright for the citizens of Red America. One thing we can count on is that any march to victory will be lead by the same gung-ho conservatives whose hard-earned dollars are bankrolling today’s defunding fight.
Matt Cover is Content Editor at Rare. Follow him on Twitter @MattCover.
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