UPDATE: The Armed Forces Press Service has a timetable for when the military will begin shutting down facilities. I expect and hope that the civilians will be laid off and bases closed in Democrat districts first. That would seem only fair. Unless they pass a “clean” military spending bill with no timetables, February will see the first closings and layoffs. Just in time for the primaries.
We have been concerned about interest rates, the Iraq War and the shootings in Colorado. Meanwhile, Congress gets ready to shut down the government. Will they do it ? I don’t know. There is a lot of posturing going on. Next year is an election year. Clinton outmaneuvered the Republicans back in 1995 but can Bush do the same ? He has not been as agile in his public personna as Clinton was. The clumsiness of Newt Gingrich, with his complaint of being “snubbed” may or may not have been the factor that made the difference. Clinton wasn’t called “Slick Willie” for nothing. I can’t imagine anyone calling Bush “slick.” Nancy Pelosi is perfectly capable of doing dumb stunts although the public may not notice the small ones. It will be interesting to see what happens. If the Reublicans could only cure their addiction to pork, they might be in a position to benefit. We’ll see.
Kevin Drum doesn’t like it a bit.
Tags: Congress, deadlock, Democrats, pork, Republicans
The pork is the problem, it’s what lost them their credibility. De-pork!
I recall the last shutdown, and the announcement that “all non-essential departments will close”. Were they missed?
I also recall a cartoon with a picture of a massive construction site, titled “future Bureaucracy of Department Closures.”