Democratic Senator Carl Levin says House Republican leaders bowing to the Tea Party is the reason for the federal government shutdown.
Levin accuses the Tea Party of doing what the 9/11 terrorists could not: shut down the federal government.
“We weren’t shutdown on 9/11. We kept going. There was a physical attack on us,” Levin told reporters on a conference call today, “Now you got people who are doing an economic attack on us, saying they will not allow this government to function unless they get their way on a particular issue.”
Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act is behind the standoff between House Republicans and Senate Democrats and the President in the budget stalemate.
Levin says he feels passionate about many issues, including gun control, but Michigan’s senior U.S. Senator says he would not shut down the government just because he’s not getting his way.
Levin adds the cost of restarting the federal government, depending on how long the shutdown lasts, could be in the billions of dollars.
