WFFaithful
Well-known member
The Tea Party members are very defiant. They increasingly see the situation as a must win.
Bama, are you furloughed or essential?
I thought this was a pretty good take. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/10/its-official-republicans-dont-care-about-uncertainty-at-all/280162/
I mean, it all comes down to opposing Obama.
Henry Blodget: I've Finally Figured Out Why Some Crazy Republicans Want To Shut The Government Down!
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...But now, on the eve of the shutdown, the "giddy" behavior the Tea Party extremists are displaying is becoming even more comprehensible.
Why?
Because the first parts of the government that will be shut down are the parts of the government that the Tea Party extremists say they hate!
Specifically:
*The Environmental Protection Agency. The Tea Party extremists don't care about the environment and hate the organization dedicated to protecting it. So the fact that the EPA will have to furlough all but 1,069 of its 16,200 workers is great news to them. (Rebecca Ballhaus of the Wall Street Journal).
*The National Labor Relations Board. The Tea Party extremists hate the NLRB, which tries to make sure that the country's workers are treated fairly. So it's presumably awesome that the NLRB will furlough all but 11 of its 1,611 staffers. (WSJ)
*Food stamps for Women, Infants, and Children. The Tea Party extremists hate food stamps. So they'll be happy a special federal "WIC" food stamps program will be shut down. (Some bad news for Tea Party folks here, though. The broader food stamps program will continue.) (USA Today)
*The Commodities Futures Trading Commission. The Tea Party extremists don't think we should have industry rules or regulators, so the fact that only 8 of the CFTC's 650 workers will come to work and get paid after the shutdown is downright exciting. (WSJ)
*National parks and museums will close. The Tea Party extremists don't care about nature. And museums are for elitists. (WSJ)
*Internal Revenue Service audits. The Tea Party extremists hate, hate, hate the IRS. So they'll be pleased that annoying IRS bureaucrats won't be able to hassle free people and confiscate more money from them. Unfortunately, they'll still owe taxes. And the IRS will still exist.
*The Census Bureau will stop collecting data. Who needs data? (WSJ)
*Applications for small-business loans won't be processed. The Tea Party extremists don't think the government should make small-business loans. (WSJ)
And so on...
Meanwhile, the parts of the government that Tea Party extremists love will keep right on cranking:
The military! Active duty service-members won't get furloughed. Only some civilians. (Sorry, civilians, you don't count. And you work for the government, so Tea Party extremists hate you.)
Border security (yes!), the Coast Guard, federal law enforcement, the National Security Agency, and prison guards. There won't be any cutbacks here. (Thankfully.)
Laws. Most of the Justice Department will still come to work.
Air traffic control and mail delivery.
The only bummer for the Tea Party extremists is that Social Security checks will still be delivered and Medicare bills will still be paid. The Tea Party extremists say they hate Social Security and Medicare, so this will be awkward for them.
But not that awkward. Because actual Americans like Social Security and Medicare, so the Tea Party extremists won't have to explain to their constituents why the government checks that they love so much have stopped coming.
In short, the order in which the government will be shut down appears to be almost perfectly designed to have the Tea Party extremists be able to say that, after the shutdown, the country will be better off.
So now their selfish, irresponsible behavior is actually starting to make sense!
And as BI Executive Editor Joe Weisenthal pointed out yesterday, this order of shutdown may make the shutdown last longer than it ordinarily would.
Why?
Because the Tea Party extremists will be able to say that they're happy about the new status quo!
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Henry Blodget: I've Finally Figured Out Why Some Crazy Republicans Want To Shut The Government Down!
Oh great. The house Pubs want to fund popular bits of government in piecemeal fashion to force the senate/President to vote "against" them.
Damn, this is madness.
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...New House GOP strategy
However, sources in the House Republican leadership told CNN on Tuesday they plan a series of votes to fund specific government departments and programs, starting with spending for veterans, the District of Columbia and the
Some conservatives led by GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas have called for such a strategy, which would force opponents to vote against authorizing spending for popular programs like veterans affairs.
Under the scenario described by Cruz, the piecemeal spending plan would be a way to defund Obamacare on a step-by-step basis.
Reid called this effort "just another whacky idea from tea party Republicans," while White House spokeswoman Amy Brundage vowed the president would veto any such bills...
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All three failed in the house
What is the next grand plan?