Sen. Mitch McConnell doesn't think another government shutdown is the best way to get rid of Obamacare. He suggests changing the government.
That would mean electing a Republican majority in the Senate in 2014 and a GOP president in 2016, McConnell said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's "
Your World with Neil Cavuto."
"We'd all love to get rid of Obamacare," McConnell, R-Ky., said, but he noted that Republicans have a math problem: "In the Senate, we have 55 Democrats and 45 Republicans, and we have a president who thinks [Obamacare] is a wonderful thing."
Tea party conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, hasn't ruled out another move that could lead to a shutdown in mid-January.
Republican leaders aren't keen on the idea because the partial shutdown in October was devastating to
GOP poll numbers. Republicans would be happier to let Democrats' poll numbers continue to fester amid the botched Obamacare rollout.
McConnell told Cavuto he's in the camp that prefers to let Obamcare fall under its own weight.
"I don't think Albert Einstein could fix the Obamacare problem," he said. "I wish them well, but their problem is the substance of Obamacare and how it's impacting America in all kinds of negative ways."
Obamare is "bigger than a website," McConnell said, and is "not fixable."
President Barack Obama said he didn't want to change his signature legislation anyway, McConnell said. Instead, Obama vowed to spend last the three years of his term defending it.
"We're going to be experiencing the impact of this monstrosity for years to come – until the American people decide to change the government," McConnell said. "And if they decide to change the government, we'll pull it out root and branch and go in a different direction, and work on the problem on cost."
A "change in government" could put McConnell, the current Senate minority leader, in charge of Senate rules. Cavuto asked whether a McConnell-led Senate would keep the 51 percent majority-rule change just imposed by Democrats on breaking filibusters for most presidential nominations.
McConnell said he doesn't know what Republicans' view would end up being, but said it would be a "great discussion to have."
McConnell also defended himself against the RINO [Republican in Name Only]
label some put on him after his criticism of the Senate Conservatives Fund, a tea party-supported group.
"I'm a big fan of the tea party movement," McConnell said, saying he was referring only to the Senate Conservatives Fund when he accused the group of hurting the Republican cause.
The tea party as a whole, he said, has been vital in putting the House back under GOP control.
The Senate Conservatives Fund didn't' appear to buy it, tweeting:
Mitch McConnell just said he supports the Tea Party. He must think people are really stupid. Support Matt Bevin:
http://t.co/clYw8KVO7x