Will Harry Reid and President Obama continue to shut down the federal government in order to force Obamacare on the American people?

That’s the question most Americans are asking these days.

The American people are rejecting Obamacare by wide margins.

Recent polls in Georgia suggest that over 57 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of Obamacare and only 31 percent have a favorable view.

Even more telling is that 49 percent of the respondents said that Obamacare should be repealed and only 14 percent said they wanted to leave it as is.

As the President plays politics and tries to hold on to what he considers his signature achievement, Obamacare, the American people wonder aloud, “Why would anyone continue to support a program that is so unpopular and that the vast majority of citizens don’t want?”

Republicans are right to continue to keep this issue at the forefront and to try and bring some sanity to what is obviously an insane law.

Obamacare is a job-killing, tax-raising assault on the greatest health care system in the world and this train wreck should be defunded, delayed and ultimately repealed.  I applaud those Republican legislators who are working toward this goal.

In fact, more than 95 percent of the jobs created in America over the past year have been part-time jobs.  Employers are terrified to hire new full-time employees because the cost of providing health care is enormous.

But why does the President continue to play politics on this issue and ignore the wishes of the citizenry?

One of the many reasons, I’m sure, is the fact that the President wants to deflect attention from the fact that, once again, he has failed to submit a proposed budget to Congress and he continues to ignore the economic issue of our generation — the national debt.

By continuing to keep the nation’s focus on the train wreck that is Obamacare, the President can continue to force Congress to pass continuing resolutions in order to keep our government running, and that does nothing but grow our national debt.

Continuing resolutions have become the norm in our federal government. In fact, over the last five years, the U.S. Senate has only passed two budgets.

While some will argue that sequestration addresses some of our budget crisis, it is far from being the only answer and has triggered disproportionately severe cuts to our military.

The single-most egregious economic act our federal government has ever committed is to not balance their budget.

As a small business owner for over 25 years, as a former mayor with the responsibility of submitting a budget to a city council, and as a state legislator serving on the Appropriations committee, I am amazed by the audacity to even think of consistently working with a deficit budget.

I have signed the Balanced Budget Amendment Pledge as a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for a congressionally proposed Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The American people understand how bad Obamacare is and how it must be stopped.

I have consistently voted in the state Senate to oppose Obamacare and its various manifestations.

Now is the time to draw a line in the sand — a line in the sand that actually means something. It’s time to stand strong and repeal Obamacare — a job-killing, tax-raising and deficit expanding train wreck.

And while Obamacare may divert our attention for a while, passing continuing resolutions and disregarding the need to balance our budget and address our national debt are not going to be ignored or tolerated.

Sen. Buddy Carter can be reached at 421-B State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334. His Capitol office number is (404) 656-5109. You can connect with him on Facebook at facebook.com/buddycarterga or follow him on Twitter @Buddy_Carter.