House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy says the last Congress did not pass a 2011 spending plan because lawmakers "were afraid," and after the November election passed the buck to the Republican-controlled House, so the GOP would get blamed if  inaction led to a government shutdown - now a distinct possibility.

mccarthy, whip, lawmakers, affraidMcCarthy also said Wednesday on Fox News, if President Barack Obama doesn't force Democrats to accept another proposed stopgap spending measure, which funds the military for the rest of this fiscal year, then "shame on him."
 
"They were afraid they couldn't get anything through. So, they didn't pass the budget," McCarthy told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "But this is even worse, Sean. You know, what they did? After the November election, we still had that lame-duck session. They come back and they choose to pass a continuing resolution that only funds government to March 8th, because they believe . . . Republicans will shut [the government] down."