Ohio Democrats urge House Speaker John Boehner to thwart the Tea Party and end shutdown

Published October 16, 2013 at 2:55 p.m.

By Sabrina Eaton from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ohio's Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent House Speaker John Boehner a letter Wednesday that urges him to stand up to the Tea Party and allow a vote on "legislation acceptable to the Senate and President Obama which will end the shutdown and avert a default."

Their letter comes as U.S. Senate leaders announced they had reached a deal to reopen the federal government and prevent it from defaulting on its debts. After a 3 p.m. meeting with House Republicans, Boehner released a statement that said they won't block the deal.

"In addition to the risk of default, doing so would open the door for the Democratic majority in Washington to raise taxes again on the American people and undo the spending caps in the 2011 Budget Control Act without replacing them with better spending cuts," Boehner's statement said. "Our drive to stop the train wreck that is the president's health care law will continue. We will rely on aggressive oversight that highlights the law's massive flaws and smart, targeted strikes that split the legislative coalition the president has relied upon to force his health care law on the American people.”

A Boehner spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter signed by Democrats Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights, Marcy Kaptur of Toledo, Tim Ryan of the Niles area and Joyce Beatty of the Columbus area.

"History will note which leaders were responsible for pulling the country out of this terrible mess and those who stood up to the extremism and the disorder inflicted on the nation by the Tea Party," their letter said. "If you tell your Tea Party members that you will no longer permit them to hold America hostage, you will rally the silent majority of your fellow Republican members who will join with House Democrats to end this crisis."