Last week, referring to the Republicans feigned conditional opposition — such as demanding defunding or postponed implementation of Obamacare — to raising the debt ceiling, Obama said that “we can’t make extortion routine as part of our democracy”.
To “extort” means “to get (something, such as money) from a person by the use of force or threats”; “to obtain from a person by force, intimidation, or undue or illegal power”.
Extortion is what government does. It is effectively the only reason government exists.
Obamacare is an exceptional example.
