One prominent Republican senator is speaking out against the looming government shutdown engineered by Tea Party darling Sen. Ted Cruz. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) spoke out Sunday against House Republicans for threatening a government shutdown over defunding or delaying Obamacare.

Collins, who had repeatedly voted against Obamacare in the past, issued a statement signalling her disagreement with the strategy being used by the House GOP members, who passed a spending measure that was tied to the delay of Obamacare for one year.

“I voted against Obamacare and have repeatedly voted to repeal, reform, and replace it, but I disagree with the strategy of linking Obamacare with the continuing functioning of government-a strategy that cannot possibly work,” Collins said in the statement (posted below).

Collins urged Obama and “congressional leaders to sit down immediately and negotiate at least a stopgap funding measure to avoid a disruption in many vital programs on which our citizens rely.”

The statement:

“What is abundantly clear is that the American people do not want dysfunction in Washington to lead to another government shutdown. A shutdown will only further damage our struggling economy and reverse an already slow climb out of recession.

“I voted against Obamacare and have repeatedly voted to repeal, reform, and replace it, but I disagree with the strategy of linking Obamacare with the continuing functioning of government-a strategy that cannot possibly work.  Instead, I urge the President and congressional leaders to sit down immediately and negotiate at least a stopgap funding measure to avoid a disruption in many vital programs on which our citizens rely. I also call on the President to resume the budget discussions he had been having with those of us attempting to forge a long-term fiscal plan to address our unsustainable $17 trillion debt without resorting to constant brinkmanship and the threat of a government shutdown.” Source: Talking Points Memo

The House Republicans are oblivious to the fact that a majority of Americans don’t want a government shutdown nor do they want the ridiculous gridlock in Washington D.C. A recent CNN/ORC poll found that 3 in 4 Americans would blame the Republican Party for a government shutdown.

This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.