Haha:
“It’s getting better for us,” said Representative Raúl R. Labrador, Republican of Idaho. “The moment where Republicans are least popular is right when the government shuts down. But when the president continues to say he’s unwilling to negotiate with the American people, when Harry Reid says he won’t even take things to conference, I don’t think the American people are going to take that too kindly.”
Yes, if only President Obama were willing to get in a room with the American people (or at least
the 22 percent of them who think shutting down the government will give them the leverage to defund Obamcare), then maybe Republicans would be in trouble. But they're winning, and big, as long he's demanding outrageous things like Republicans shouldn't hold the government hostage over an ideological battle, and as long as Harry Reid is doing absurd things, like
offering to have a budget conference committee after Republicans reopen government.
As Labrador would say, the only question now is how long will it take before President Obama and Democrats realize that it's terrible politics for them to be standing up to bullies and rejecting House Republican extortion demands?