Right battle, wrong time

Success in politics is often about picking the right battles. But success also depends on timing.

The GOP may well be picking the right battle at the wrong time.

And although I fully support and understand the wide range of disagreement on the miserable Obamacare mandates, from a political standpoint I see nothing but setbacks.

If there is anything good about the political intrigue underway in Washington, it may be that this week provides a pivotal moment as a lead-up to the 2014 elections.

That unfortunately is about the only political success that can come from this impasse.

No one on either side of the political aisle wants to shut down the government with the lack of a budget agreement.

But the Senate rules do allow some clever wiggle room for the Republicans that could put the hot potato squarely back to the Democrats.

With 46 GOP Senators -- that leaves the Democrats needing support from some of their more moderate GOP colleagues to effectively remove legislation that defunds Obamacare from the House bill.

Were the GOP to stand united -- an iffy prospect perhaps -- then the House could offer a number of bills that fund specific parts of the federal government, i.e. the military, etc.

Were that process to unfold, the government shutdown would be averted and Obamacare funding would remain up in the air for now.

But Senate rules get murky and the politics of the process get heated and the mainstream media keeps a constant drumbeat blaming the Republicans for all of society's ills.

You know how that works.

And this, my friends, is the world of Obama's bipartisan promise.

No one can accurately predict how this drama will play out with the American public. And rest assured, you cannot rely on our national media to paint an accurate portrayal of the consequences and impact of the legislative action this week.

The American public is largely against the bureaucratic mess that is Obamacare. But the American public is also strongly against actions that would shutdown the federal government.

The predictions are fairly simple, it seems.

The government will continue as normal -- which is less than perfect. And Obamacare, in some form or fashion, will plow along until it breaks under its own weight.

This week is more about setting the stage for the 2014 elections than what the headlines will tell you.

My heart says to abandon Obamacare at all costs. But my political nature says pick the right battles at the right time and be patient for the victory that may well come down the road.

Keep in mind -- elections have consequences. I think I've heard that somewhere.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat.