The Shutdown

Scott Hardie | October 8, 2013
One of the good things about being so busy for the last few weeks is that I've mostly been unable to follow the news. The manufactured "crisis" that is the government shutdown is political theater designed to provoke outrage, and I don't want to feel outrage, so I've done my best not to think about it. That said, there are two things that I would like to understand better. Help me out here.

1) Why are some conservatives calling this a "liberal shutdown"? Is that just a play on words to imply that Democrats won't negotiate, or is there more to it than that? I would think that the country's far right, the same audience that is likely to agree with Ted Cruz and Fox News that this is the liberals' fault, would be excited to see the shuttering of Washington. So isn't "blaming" such a happy event on liberals kind of a backwards strategic move, or am I missing something?

2) What is it with Facebook and the endless reposting of petitions, proposed amendments, and other nonsense about how members of Congress should not receive their salaries during the shutdown? I've seen at least one such thing daily since a few days before the shutdown officially began. This feel-good movement seems to miss several big points:
- This would do nothing to dissuade Congress, if the goal is to make them change.
- Most members of Congress are quite wealthy and would feel little effect, if the goal is to punish them.
- Only 30ish Representatives are responsible for this, so denying all of them salaries would apply to the rest unfairly.
- The shutdown wreaks so much havoc for so many people, far too much to list here, and the fact that Congress still gets paid is what you're outraged about?
- Docking a few weeks pay would be fair punishment? "Fine, you all can have your damn shutdown and play games with our economy and millions of federal employee's lives -- but you're going to miss a paycheck, punks!"

Scott Hardie | October 8, 2013
I love this.

Erik Bates | October 8, 2013
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