The Cost Of Winning: Shutting Down The GOP/Tea Party Shutdown

Last night the Senate finally crafted a bipartisan resolution to raise the debt ceiling and end the GOP/Tea Party driven shutdown. The sixteen days that government was closed had a materially negative impact on millions of Americans. Nearly 800,000 were furloughed from work. Many more were turned away from federal agencies that provide aid and public services for parks, education, etc.

The media will now spend days/weeks analyzing the repercussions and adjudicating winners and losers. While it may be apparent that the Republican Party and its extremist Tea Party wing have suffered a hobbling blow (their favorability has sunk to historic lows), the harm to the public at large cannot be dismissed. Although, sadly, it may be as the media ignores the ongoing strife in favor of reporting on horse-race style politics. Despite the relief we all feel that the immediate crisis was averted, there is still a price to be paid. And it isn’t cheap:

Shutdown Receipt

Yep, the shutdown cost America about $24 billion. That is courtesy of the allegedly fiscally responsible Republicans in Congress. Voters need to remember this in November 2014, and Democrats need to repeatedly remind them between now and then. Democrats only need to gain 17 seats in order to take the Speaker’s gavel out of John Boehner’s inept hands. Doing so will improve the prospects for economic recovery, job growth, infrastructure repair, environmental action, and progress on civil rights and income equality.

A change in party control of Congress won’t solve all of the nation’s problems. It won’t end radical Tea Party demands to repeal ObamaCare or for severe cuts to Social Security and Medicare. It won’t stop the birthers and the racists who disparage President Obama and oppose every policy put forth by Democrats. It won’t keep pseudo-patriots from advocating for war at every turn. And it won’t restore sanity to the global financial system that evades criminal responsibilities and exploits average people throughout the world.

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However, it will remove from power a gang of nutjobs who hate Obama more than they love their country. It will bring Nancy Pelosi back to the Speaker’s office. It will install Democrats as the chairmen of all committees, replacing corrupt GOP ideologues like Darrell Issa, Dave Camp, and Paul Ryan. And it will put us on surer footing and give us a more productive legislative branch that actually has an interest in governing positively, and in building up America rather than in tearing it down. That’s progress.

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13 thoughts on “The Cost Of Winning: Shutting Down The GOP/Tea Party Shutdown

  1. Perfect. Excellently done sir; short, relevant, and lucid. Great article.

    • You realize because the government operates as it does with the enormous need for credit from banks and other countries to operate and to perpetuate our fiat currency – it is exposed to this all the time – we’ll be revisiting this for sure again and one time in the future it may not end so quietly. And if the US dollar ever loses it’s status as reserve currency or the petro dollar goes away, the real pain will start. So maybe everyone needs to start pulling in the same direction – maybe not pure right or left, but somewhere we can agree and it will need to involve shrinking government. It’s not insanity as you suggest, just a different set of concerns.

      • We are looking right down the barrel of a shrinking or shrunk gov’t right now, republican style. We are still being abused with the sequester. It’s pretty clear the American people are not amused. “Insanity” by the republicans would be a mild description.

        And, oh joy, we get more of it in two months. Just because you like it or are not suffering because of it doesn’t mean the rest of us will put up with it. Nov 2014 can’t get here fast enough. Justice is coming.

        • How exactly are you or anyone else suffering? Honestly – do you have so little ability to do for yourself that you are this terrified of teeny cuts, which aren’t even cuts, to government. Maybe you need to do some re-evaluating of your life.

          • As a furloughed, shiftless, lazy gov’t employee? Yeah, I’m feeling it. That’s the thanks I get for my 20 yrs of military service, and 14yrs of civil service. Folks like you don’t have the capability for empathy or the inclination to think of anyone but yourself. My service then and now is for you and you folks who “support the troops” and our democratic gov’t whether you appreciate it or not.

            There are way too many Americans who DO appreciate our way of life for me to get too worked up over your drivel. I’ll do for you in order to get to those who matter.

            • So you are dependent on the federal government thieving of my paycheck for your livelyhood – maybe you should be thanking me instead of suggesting I’m selfish for not willingy hand my money over to you. You are paid to be there – so this isn’t service or altruism – and we’ll be supporting you forever if you’re in some kind of government pension. I’ll accept your thank you for my generosity in supporting your paycheck – your welcome and don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

            • I just read your post again and realized you’re double dipping. 20 year military – pension I’m sure you’re receiving now and getting a paycheck from the federal government on top of it – don’t sit there and complain or look for sympathy – you deserve none.

    • Here is a quote to put it in perspective for you who thinks our “cult” is insane –

      If you wish to know how libertarians regard the State and any of its acts, simply think of the State as a criminal band, and all of the libertarian attitudes will logically fall into place.

      Murray Rothbard
      Source – Brainy Quote

      Of course the modern day Republicans are not Libertarian or even conservative – so it’s not wholly applicable, but Tea Party people are much closer to that description. Tactics may need some work, but the ideology is sound.

      • Don’t ever go away, Steve. You bring front and center the obvious problems your ideology presents to our way of life. Makes it easy for citizens to identify and to fight it.

        What I do is required by the constitution. If you want to live in this country and reap the benefits it provides, you’re required to pay taxes in order to support those things we the people have deemed necessary and are constitutional.

        You, on the other hand, support things that undermine the constitution. The constitution specifically prohibits putting the full faith and credit in jeopardy and you advocate and support doing just that. Justify it anyway you want but some have even gone as far as calling that treasonous. That’s where you are.

        True colors; just saying.

        “You are paid to be there – so this isn’t service or altruism – and we’ll be supporting you forever if you’re in some kind of government pension. I’ll accept your thank you for my generosity in supporting your paycheck –”

        Yeah, you’ll get the thanks when you risk your life for others or just do for others.

        Stay front and center. YOUR selfishness is quite clear.
        We need the reminder that there are those who are not patriots in even the most basic sense of the word. It’s your right and I “served” for your ability to think and feel the way you do.

        But we see you. You make it easy. Thanks, at least, for that.

        • Don’t worry, I won’t.. someone needs to remind you who is paying the bill for you. Every penny you get is on the back of me and every other person performing actual work in this country – and it’s not voluntary – you may not like it and I really don’t care if you do or don’t. In the end – you can certainly be proud of your service in the military, but unless you actually served in the actual defense of this country, save your “fight for my right blah blah blah” for someone who actually did.

          • Yeah Steve, you are the only one ever to work for a living. Time to blow it out your ass.

            • It doesn’t need to be like this – I’ll freely admit I would be ashamed to have a federal job and take a paycheck from that gang of criminals and from my fellow citizens – but don’t act like you working for the federal government is true service. Volunteering for military service – that is service. Showing up to a federal job is not. And if our tax system was more of a voluntary type system – such as a consumption tax or national sales tax – and the government size was within those tax receipts, then my bitching would end, but it’s not and the system introduced by the Federal Reserve act and the 16th ammendment is what we have and it’s rotten. You’re just ok with it.

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