It’s Gotta Hurt

As the federal shutdown grinds on, Team Obama’s message to the American people is sadly consistent: Shove it — as painfully as possible.

Obama’s strategic sadism disregards regular Americans’ basic needs and tortures those who resist. And if this damages people, so what? “We are winning,” a senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal. “It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown endures, “because what matters is the end result.”

The administration is scrambling over benefits that were denied to the bereaved families of at least 26 military servicemembers who died on duty since the October 1 shutdown. Despite Congress’s enacting and Obama’s signing pre-shutdown funding for military pay and family assistance, officials initially refused these grieving loved ones the travel and burial aid that Washington traditionally offers under such brutal circumstances. The GOP House voted unanimously Wednesday to restore this relief. Senate majority leader Harry Reid of Nevada trivialized this House bill as being “for show,” and White House press secretary Jay Carney called it “a gimmick.” However, amid growing public outcry, Reid pushed the measure through the Senate Thursday. Until federal money actually arrives, the private Fisher House deserves national applause for underwriting this support for the loved ones of these fallen heroes.

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