Republicans blame each other after shutdown fiasco

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/10/20/senate-obama-shutdown-cruz-mcconnell-mccain/3090819/

Republicans blame each other after shutdown fiasco

Richard Wolf, USA TODAY 2:25 p.m. EDT October 20, 2013

Mitch McConnell, John McCain, Jeb Bush say the party needs to pick better battles, but Sen. Ted Cruz vows to fight on.

WASHINGTON — Republicans began a new week pointing fingers at each other Sunday following a 16-day government shutdown and near-default that left the nation worse off and the GOP taking most of the blame.

If there was a theme to the round of Sunday morning talk shows looking back at the fiasco, it was the determination of most Republicans – from Senate leaders to past and potential future presidential candidates – to move on rather than focus on this month's failed battles.

Sen. John McCain called the effort to defund President Obama's health care expansion "a fool's errand." Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell vowed there will be no more government shutdowns. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush accused the party of stepping on its message.

There was little support for Cruz among other Republicans appearing on TV Sunday. Two fellow conservatives, Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Roy Blunt of Missouri, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius should testify before Congress on Obamacare but should not – at least not yet – be forced to resign, as Cruz and some other Republicans have suggested.

And Bush said the GOP needs to "show a little self-restraint" and let Obamacare play out, particularly since its government website has left thousands of Americans unable to sign up for health coverage.