Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN) revealed a little of his “charm” during an interview with CNN host Carol Costello about the government shutdown on Thursday.
In a move straight out of the GOP outreach playbook, Rokita tried his best line on Costello when arguing that Democrats aren’t thinking of future generations.
“I don’t know if you have children yet, I’m sure you don’t have grandchildren yet — you look much too young — but we’re fighting for them,” Rokita said. “Carol, do you have any idea how much this law is going to cost?”
Costello replied, “Do you know how much it costs every day the government is partially shut down? You’re costing taxpayers millions and millions of dollars!”
Rokita stood by his repeated theory that Obamacare will only hurt future generations, saying it’s “one of the most insidious laws ever developed by men” and that will hurt the economy more than any government shutdown has in the past — a claim that even former president George W. Bush and Mitt Romney advisor Greg Mankiw says there’s no evidence to back up.
“I think most Americans would say fight that fight separate from the federal budget,” Costello said. “Don’t partially shut down the federal government, don’t make things worse by fighting the same fight over and over.”
In typical Republican fashion, Rokita shifted the blame to anyone but himself and his party. “No, you’re part of the problem,” Rokita concluded. “Carol, you’re beautiful, but you need to be honest as well.”
Costello promptly ended the interview.
Rokita’s office offered a statement to Politico on Thursday afternoon saying, “At the end of a spirited and very important debate, I was simply keeping it from unnecessarily ending in an unfriendly or contentious way. I intended no offense to Ms. Costello.”
A classic case of “if you can’t beat them, you can at least creep them out.”
Watch the exchange here:
H/T: Think Progress
