WASHINGTON – President Obama is willing to negotiate with the Syrian dictator he wanted to bomb for gassing his own people.
He is willing to negotiate with the president of Iran and the Taliban.
But, Obama said, "Absoutely, I will not negotiate" with Republicans.
Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, finds that outrageous, and there is fury in his voice.
"This is something fundamentally wrong with this president," he told WND.
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"The president is willing to negotiate with this man, who gassed his own people," said Stockman, pointing to a picture of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad giving a Nazi-like salute.
"He can negotiate with the head of Iran, who wants to eliminate all of Israel."
The president even negotiated with the Taliban and apparently got very little in return, Stockman pointed out.
But Obama refuses to negotiate on the budget with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, "who's the leader of our House, who is nothing more than a working-class guy who got elected to Congress."
The straight-shooting Texan made sure to mention he had even once worked against Boehner "and didn't want to see him as speaker," but showed an obvious admiration for the man "known for his compassionate heart."
"Yet, this is the man he (Obama) refuses to negotiate with, and this is the man he calls a terrorist with a bomb strapped to him," he said. "What we have right here, is the president has things backward. He is abdicating his responsibilities."
Stockman said Obama is saying he's more frightened of the speaker than he is of the terrorists and the war mongers in the world.
"It's an embarrassment that he won't negotiate with John Boehner."
Stockman reflected, "I may disagree with his policies sometimes, but one thing you can say about John Boehner is he has a big heart. He's a gracious guy and it is wrong of this administration to vilify him and make outrageous and outlandish comments about him.
"The president owes him an apology."
Stockman's full interview with WND touched upon many other aspects of the government shutdown.
WND asked if he had ever heard of a continuing resolution (spending bill) passed without negotiations.
The Texan said "no," and, "It would be tantamount to sitting in a room with an empty chair. "
Stockman noted, when he was in the Senate, Obama "hardly ever voted," and now "he's abdicating his responsibility (as president.)"
"There's nobody to negotiate with," he said. "So, he shut the government down because he is unwilling to be reasonable."
WND asked Stockman: Why is he doing that?
The congressman chalked it up to politics and said the Democrats think this will help them in the 2014 elections.
"They're going to blame the Republicans for the shutdown," he explained. "And, quite frankly, the way the press is, Republicans probably will get the blame.
"The government was shut down eight times during the Reagan administration. If you go back to the press clippings, he gets the total blame for it."
Stockman said the media portrayed Congress and former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, D-Mass., as having "nothing to do with it," but, "Now, the Republicans have taken over the House, it's not the president's fault anymore; it's now (the fault of) Congress."
WND noted the shutdown affects "nonessential" services and asked whether Stockman believes taxpayers should be paying for nonessential services in the first place.
"Some would argue that could be permanent and could save the government millions, if not billions, of dollars," the Texan mused.
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is demanding Republicans pass the Senate's spending bill before he will negotiate. WND asked Stockman, if the GOP did that, what would be left to negotiate.
He replied, "Harry Reid is demanding we totally give up our position."
Stockman added, "They're going to throw a tantrum until they get their way. And, I hope we don't cave to that kind of behavior."
This is Stockman's second time in Congress. He observed, "Last time I was here, it was 22 or 23 days before President Clinton came to his senses and started negotiating. Which, by the way, facilitated one of the largest reforms, welfare reform. After we settled it, the stock market took off."
What is the GOP strategy now?
"I think the public's going to get tired of it, and they (the Democrats) are going to feel the heat," the congressman predicted.
"They think we're going to feel the heat, but I would think someone like (Sen.) Mary Landrieu (D-La.), who's running for re-election in Louisiana is going to have a hard time defending her position, which gives Congress special breaks and doesn't allow delays of Obamacare for the rest of the people."
Does he feel there's enough unity among House Republicans to hold the plan together?
"Well, so far," he said. "It's bizarre because they keep saying we're not unified, but there's more Democrats coming to our side than the other way around. If anything, there are Democrats who are falling off the wagon."
Stockman rattled off a list of problems he said have occurred under Obama, including the rich getting richer and rising black unemployment, "yet he is never held accountable for his actions."
He added, "He's blamed another president now for five or six years. None of this is his fault. "
The congressman said the president has "abdicated his responsibility as a leader. It's high time he stands up and takes a leadership role, not play golf.
"He does not care about the people. His actions speak louder than words."
Follow Garth Kant on Twitter @DCgarth
See additional stories about Obamacare and the government shutdown:
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Obama sued for fiddling with health takeover
'Fakers': Dems hurl verbal bombs at GOP
Japan pulls Gardasil shots for young girls
Obamacare to Americans: 'Please wait'
Veterans visit 'closed' site in Washington
Troops could lose thousands during shutdown
Black professor: Shutdown due to Obama's skin color
Commentary from Molotov Mitchell: '61% of Americans are right-wing nutjobs?'
Commentary from Troy Newman: 'Now I'm an unwilling Obamacare outlaw'