CNN's Dana Bash does the unthinkable and asks a Democrat a tough question. Majority Leader Harry Reid appears to be flummoxed by it, dances around it, hems, haws, and clears his throat, finally resorting to insulting Bash for her impertinence in asking His Majesty such an insolent question in the first place:
The background to Bash's question was an earlier CNN story about kids being turned away from cancer treatment at an NIH facility because of the federal shutdown. The implication of the story was that Republicans are cruel and heartless and responsible for the children not getting treatment because the Republicans have shut down the NIH. What wasn't reported was that the House Republicans had passed a bill that would fully fund the NIH, but Senator Reid has refused to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote.
Those kids were turned away because of Reid's intransigence and it's obvious from his exchange with Bash that he knows he can't defend it. He asks rhetorically and rather weirdly what gives the House of Representatives the right to determine what gets funded and what doesn't (Answer: The Constitution) and even takes complete leave of his senses by asking why he should want to save a child dying of cancer. I can imagine every future political opponent he ever faces in Nevada playing this video non-stop in television ads.
The Republicans are willing to fund the government, they're willing to pass spending bills for everything that needs funding. The only thing they will not fund is Obamacare. Reid and the Dems are in a tough position. They have to reject the House spending bills and keep the government shut down while convincing the country that it's really the mean Republicans who are responsible for the shutdown. They know that if they don't do this the Republicans will fund everything except the AFA, the government will be back up and running, and Obamacare, the biggest power grab in the history of this country, will simply die of inanition.
There's a lot at stake, and the pressure is evidently taking its toll on Senator Reid.
