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Tea party, lesson learned, plays nice this time

FILE - This July 28, 2011 file photo shows Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., left, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The tea party may have learned its lesson. As Congress finishes work on a must-pass spending bill set for votes next week, the most conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill are eager to send a message on immigration, and stand firm against a government lending bank. But a year after they forced a 16-day partial government shutdown over President Barack Obama’s health care law, few seem to have the stomach to push their demands that far again. "No question we learned that with the aid of the news media the Democrats were able to pin the blame on us" for last year’s shutdown, said Brooks. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) FILE - This July 28, 2011 file photo shows Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., left, on Capitol Hill in Washington. The tea party may have learned its lesson. As Congress finishes work on a must-pass spending bill set for votes next week, the most conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill are eager to send a message on immigration, and stand firm against a government lending bank. But a year after they forced a 16-day partial government shutdown over President Barack Obama’s health care law, few seem to have the stomach to push their demands that far again. "No question we learned that with the aid of the news media the Democrats were able to pin the blame on us" for last year’s shutdown, said Brooks. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By Associated Press September 10, 2014 5 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – The tea party may have learned its lesson.

As Congress finishes work on a must-pass spending bill set for votes next week, the most conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill are eager to send a message on immigration, and stand firm against a government lending bank.

But a year after they forced a 16-day partial government shutdown over President Barack Obama’s health care law, few seem to have the stomach to push their demands that far again.

“No question we learned that with the aid of the news media the Democrats were able to pin the blame on us” for last year’s shutdown, said conservative Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.

This time around, Brooks said, “We need to pass whatever funding necessary to prevent a government shutdown, first and foremost.”