The Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has decided to force a shutdown of the government of the United States of America. It's hard to imagine a greater political blunder.
It's hard to imagine a less media-savvy strategy than shutting the government down now, tonight. What Ted Cruz, Ken Cuccinelli, and their buddies in the U.S. House of Representatives have failed to factor into their calculations is that Saturday Night Live premieres its 39th season tonight. But wait, it gets worse. Tonight's host of Saturday Night Live is Tina Fey, one of the most brilliant political satirists this nation has ever produce. But wait, it gets worser. Saturday Night Live lost a large number of veteran cast members at the end of last season--the show has added six new cast members--and fans like myself are very curious about the new cast.
Add all these factors together and you get a show that's going to be watched by millions upon millions of Americans, and it's going to shred the Republican Party for what it is doing right now.
Millions of Americans who rarely tune into news programs are going to get their first impression of the government shutdown and the people who caused it from Saturday Night Live and SNL News--and the brilliant Tina Fey.
If that wasn't bad enough news, consider this: Jon Stewart is back from his leave of absence from "The Daily Show." The 1995 government shutdown was a disaster in 1995. Know what? "The Daily Show" didn't exist in 1995, and Jon Stewart didn't become host of the show until 1999. Jon Stewart--another great political satirist--is going to shred the Republican Party for its irresponsibility. And then there's "The Colbert Report," possibly the most brilliant piece of American political satire ever created. "The Colbert Report" premiered in 2005, so the Republican Party has never tried to shut the government down when Stephen Colbert was on the air.
The Republican Party has decided to do something ridiculous in a media atmosphere where stupidity invites ridicule. The Republican Party is about to face the greatest shit storm in the history of popular media. I'm popping popcorn.