Marge, it takes two to lie: one to lie and one to listen.
---H.J. Simpson.
i'm tired of the media's false equivalency, saying the shutdown is "both sides' fault" when it clearly isn't. Seaturle summed it up perfectly in the context of the gop's false cries for negotiations.
but the problem is context. most explanations of why the gop, and the gop alone, is at fault require too much explanation, something the reality-based community never gets enough time for in 5-second soundbites or in cross-talk. we need a simple, clear term that gets the point across instantly. to that end, i propose:
the gopdown
we all know that the gop tried 42 times to repeal the ACA, and failed. but so much for democracy.
we all know that the gop shut down the government solely to disrupt "obamacare."
we also know that the shutdown, by its very nature, did not stop the launch of the ACA on october 1. ironically, it's one of the few recent government programs unaffected by the shutdown, because it's a private exchange market.
so in not so many words, the shutdown and the ACA have no rational connection to each other. yet the gop insists on changes or delays for the ACA in exchange for funding the government. changes they couldn't get through the democratic process, or from the courts.
there is no way the shutdown is anyone's fault but the gop. i doubt many readers of DK need to be told this. but how many others would look at a diary like this, think "too long; didn't read" and move on without understanding an otherwise simple idea?
that's why we need a simple explanation, a single word, to make it plain. gopdown.
put the gop and its defenders on the defensive. make them try to explain why it isn't a gopdown (spoiler: they can't). make the media repeat the word - gopdown - to clear up the false equivalency.
gopdown.