With One Foot Out the Door, Congressman Alexander Calls Vote “Just a Game”

BATON ROUGE — With U.S. House Republicans voting today in favor of a government shutdown, the GOP candidates running to replace Congressman Rodney Alexander in Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District are clamming up on the issue, even as Alexander says the effort amounts to “ultraconservatives… playing games.”

“From Neil Riser to Clyde Holloway and the rest of the GOP field vying to take over Rodney Alexander’s seat in Congress, not one has made a statement whether they support shutting down the government and holding our economy hostage,” said Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Stephen Handwerk. “They have also declined to reveal whether they agree with Alexander that the House Republicans are just ‘playing games.’”

In admitting that the Senate and President Obama will not support taking away funding for the Affordable Care Act, Alexander told the Advocate, “It’s just a game so they can say they voted to defund Obamacare.”

“Louisiana Republicans have been playing games in the 5th Congressional District, and now Rodney Alexander admits Republicans are playing games in D.C., too,” said Handwerk. “At least on that, we can agree.”