President Obama has introduced an idea in the on-going debate over the government shutdown that deserves immediate attention … and action.

Put the Senate-passed spending plan to a vote in the House of Representatives, the president said.

What a concept, letting the majority of a legislative chamber decide the future of legislation.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/03/politics/government-shutdown-main/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

The holdup to date appears to be from a handful of the most fervent radicals within the Republican House caucus. They number about 30 — maybe 40, depending on who’s doing the counting — members who don’t want to fund the Affordable Care Act and are attaching a defunding mechanism to any spending bill that should be considered.

House Speaker John Boehner is caving in to that small minority within his caucus, let alone an even smaller minority within the entire body of the House.

The president demands this of the speaker: Put the issue to a vote and let the entire House of Representatives decide the fate of a spending bill the Senate has approved. The bill includes money for the ACA, and it also reopens the federal government agencies that have closed because Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on whether to allow an establish federal law proceed — as it was enacted by Congress, signed by the president and affirmed by the Supreme Court.

Put it to a vote.