re: #87 Dark_Falcon

The 1995-1996 shutdown was a very different animal from the 2013 shutdown. Newt had firm control of the House GOP in 95-96 and he had a good idea about what he wanted (though he didn’t get a lot of it). The Republicans also controlled the Senate, which made their hand somewhat stronger. Lastly and most crucially, the 95-96 shutdown was about policy differences first and foremost, with a secondary concern about electoral politics.

By contrast, the 2013 shutdown was forced on the House leadership by a restive party base and Tea Party caucus that is unwilling to be tamed and more concerned with remaining ‘pure’ than accomplishing anything. Moreover, the 2013 shutdown was first and foremost about rage directed at Barack Obama, with Obamacare mostly being an outlet for that rage.

That is a pile of steaming crap, and you know it. Electoral politics was primary then as it is now.

The fact is, you can’t accept that there are those in the R party who would rule this country with a real iron fist, such as we have seen them attempt to do over the past 30 years. Just because they had a few failures didn’t mean they haven’t been trying all that time. And it has to be about electoral politics, or you don’t always get to do what you want to do unless you have majorities in both houses as well as the presidency.