A minority of House Republicans, in a doomed effort to derail Obamacare, have managed to shut down large portions of our government, putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work. They know that their effort will never pass the Senate, yet they persist in this posturing while pointing fingers at everyone else.

Their next stunt will no doubt be to attempt to hold the upcoming debt ceiling talks hostage to their ideology. This will affect millions of Americans, including Social Security recipients, and destabilize our economy, because the government will not be able to pay bills it has already incurred.

Our representative, Greg Walden, supports this suicidal behavior to the detriment of working Americans and our country. In the meantime, he is getting paid while our neighbors are furloughed. When will Republicans of conscience find the political courage to resist the zealotry of the far right?

Tim Weyer

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