Conservative Leaders Threaten Shutdown to Defund Obamacare

A group of more than 50 conservative leaders sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor Monday, urging them to refrain from passing a government spending bill unless it carries no funding for the Affordable Care Act, The Hill reports.

If Congress fails to pass a spending bill, the government will shut down Oct. 1.

The letter-writers include Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; RedState Editor-in-Chief Erick Erickson; and Club for Growth President Chris Chocola.

"The excuses for not pulling out all the legislative stops to repeal Obamacare are over," the letter states. "The Supreme Court failed to strike down the entire law when it had the opportunity, and the 2012 election, which focused little on Obamacare, did not yield a new president or a new Senate majority."

So now is the time to act, the letter says. "The best and last chance for House Republicans to stand up and thwart this law before its new entitlements kick in is during the upcoming funding debate. And the House should live up to the moment and pass a bill funding the government but denying any funding for Obamacare."

Other conservatives signing the letter include Heritage Action CEO Michael Needham; FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe; American Conservative Union Chairman Al Cardenas; ForAmerica Chairman Brent Bozell; Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin; National Taxpayers Union President Duane Parde; and Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly.