A government shutdown will hurt republicans in Congress. No surprises. But if democrats get smart it will help them in the 2014 election more than many think. While the Tea Party will be busy patting themselves on their backs for throwing the country into chaos, democrats can lead the country through a shutdown, and consequently come out the other end gaining seats in Congress in 2014.
Would a government shut down, coupled with a looming debt ceiling debacle later in the year finally be enough to get rid of Tea Party control within the GOP? The answer depends on the democrats.
Could Democrats Lead During A Shutdown?
In the end, the real issue is: do democrats have the stomach for dragging out a government shutdown in order to show the country how out of control the Republican Party really is? Can they use the shutdown to show they can lead by compensating for and/or managing the cut resources? Can they demonstrate the importance of government against all of the “government is the enemy” rhetoric the country is pounded with by the GOP?
After a long shutdown, even if republicans from super-red districts are heroes to their base… they still have to survive a general election. If democrats exploit the shutdown and put blue dog democrats against the Tea Party in the general… the voters will remember, and democrats have a chance. Voters will remember what the Tea Party did to the country in the Fall of 2013: literally cripple the U.S. government, while at the same time, the democrats worked to keep services running.
A preface is necessary: shutting down the government harms America and its citizens. It will negatively impact the country’s global economic standing (once again), because the rest of the world already does’t trust that our elected representatives can govern their own way through a roundabout. A shutdown will hurt – basically everyone – including our veterans to seniors who the Right so love to wrap in American flags and put in their commercials.
That being said, why aren’t democrats working harder to anger the extreme right-wing – get those people riled up and red-eyed angry so that they DO shut down the government?
Would not a Tea Party republican-forced shutdown of the US government play well for democrats in the 2014 election, which is what we all want so that this melodrama in Washington, DC finally ends? Maybe we just need one final demonstration on the national stage that shows the entire country how harmful Tea Party absolutism in government actually is… encourage the republicans to shut down the government… so that they jump off the cliff for all the world to see. Could that finally be enough public education to vote them out in 2014?
I accept that we’ll always have corruption in government – there’s too much money not to be, but we can at least work to make sure the halls of Congress aren’t packed with simple-minded nitwits who don’t have a clue about things like, facts, history, nuance, Truth, sociology, culture, pluralism, negotiation, or how a bill becomes law.
Could it be money well spent by charities, democratic superPACs (PACs are “social welfare” organizations after all, right?), and everyone in the country who supports democrats and moderates to chip in and help everyone effected by a government shutdown? Stop raising money for themselves and send emails to raise money for the services that get closed instead? I’ll drive for meals on wheels for a couple weeks if it gets the Tea Party republicans out of Congress. Get democratic volunteers to help get the country through it while the GOP tears itself apart in Washington. Work together… like how some things used to be before the Tea Party started yelling at everyone and demanding “being an America” means that life all about “me” and not about “us.” If we had a viable back-up plan – encourage the extreme politicians in the Republican Party actually shut down the government… Why not?
(… yes, I know this is ridiculous suggestion, but it’s a short post, so see it through…)
If it were possible to use political party resources to feed those who would go without food, and get medicine for those who would lose it during a government shutdown… why not tell the Republican Party, “Yes, go for it. Shut down the government for a little while. Please.” Wouldn’t that help democrats keep control of the Senate and gain seats in the House of Representatives?
Yes, such an act it’s contrary to human empathy and most of what (usually) democrats stand for: jeopardize people suffering in order to gain political points. What I’m writing is undeniably an “ends justifying the means with a good back-up plan” argument. It’s intended as a starting point to start a legitimate discussion, however: why don’t democrats organize more often to showcase the extreme right-wing craziness on a national stage? Why hide it in only the super red districts? As they say, don’t “American citizens have the right to know”?
Unions do it: use organizational resources to support its members in times of a strike against management? The numbers we’re talking about here, the situation of republicans shutting down the US government, are 10,000 times larger (at least)… but just think about it for awhile as an abstract idea before passing judgement…. Why wouldn’t democrats encourage guys like “Senator” Cruz to shut down government? Why don’t democrats put Alex Jones on national TV more often? I, for one, would LOVE to see that news coverage for an entire week of how absolutist nimrods in the Republican Party have brought the US government to a complete halt… it would without a doubt win more votes for democrats in the 2014 election.
Yes, some of the far right in the super red districts would be cheered and keep their seats as a result. The Internet bubble would love it, but we’re talking about a larger goal, here: winning back the House and keeping the Senate in 2014, so that we don’t have to be held hostage by ideologues anymore.
No, democrats and democratic organizations can’t pay all the bills for people who will suffer due to a government shutdown. However, we can use that extreme idea to find safer options that have the same political impact. Are there other ways to encourage more far right-wing rampages on a national stage where everyone will see them? Can there be a way for democrats to trick the far-right into falling into traps a few more times before the election? Set the stage in such a way to guarantee the extremists fall right off the stage and into the pancake buffet – while all the cameras a watching.
It would help democrats win… but I don’t see it being possible without democrats selling their soul. Sad, though, because “Give them enough rope” is most true when applied to angry, ranting, extreme political ideologues during town hall season.
Published: by | Updated: 04-21-2015 17:43:57
