The Party of No wants to party like it’s 1995 and shut down the federal government. Provided they can take back the House of Representatives in November, of course.
"We’re going to win it this time," gloats Dick Morris. Newt Gingrich is all for it, of course. And Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) got up in front of Ralph Reed’s Faith and Freedom Coalition on Sept. 10 to urge Republican members of Congress to force the same kind of budget fight that former Speaker Gingrich used to shut down the federal government under President Clinton – a shutdown that "cost the government at least $800 million, furloughed over a million workers, delayed veterans benefits, shut down federally funded research, and suspended certain law enforcement activities, among other things." http://mediamatters.org/...
Says Steve Benen,
Westmoreland cautioned that he was fully aware that such a move would close down hospitals for veterans and shut down National Parks. But, Westmoreland argued that taking down the government is worth "the pain" because health reform and government programs are like a "gangrene" that "need to be cleaned out."
Westmoreland wasn't characterizing a shutdown as some kind of drastic step he hopes to avoid; he was describing a shutdown as something he's actively looking forward to.... Westmoreland seemed to take pride in the very idea. That's not reluctance about a scenario leaders should want to avoid, it's fanaticism about a disaster in the making.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/...
According to the CRS Report for Congress "Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Effects and Process," the 1995-96 shutdowns required the furloughing (placing in a temporary non-duty, non-pay status) of over one million federal employees.
The effects on the public at large were widespread and severe. According to the report:
Health. New patients were not accepted into clinical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ceased disease surveillance (information about the spread of diseases, such as AIDS and flu, were unavailable); hotline calls to NIH concerning diseases were not answered; and toxic waste clean-up work at 609 sites stopped, resulting in 2,400 "Superfund" workers being sent home.
Law Enforcement/Public Safety. Delays occurred in the processing of alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives applications by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; work on more than 3,500 bankruptcy cases was suspended; cancellation of the recruitment and testing of federal law- enforcement officials occurred, including the hiring of 400 border patrol agents; and delinquent child-support cases were suspended.
Parks/Museums/Monuments. Closure of 368 National Park Service sites (loss of 7 million visitors) occurred, with local communities near national parks losing an estimated $14.2 million per day in tourism revenues; and closure of national museums and monuments (estimated loss of 2 million visitors) occurred.
*Visas/Passports. 20,000-30,000 applications by foreigners for visas went unprocessed each day; 200,000 U.S. applications for passports went unprocessed; and U.S. tourist industries and airlines sustained millions of dollars in losses.
American Indian/Other Native Americans. All 13,500 Department of Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) employees were furloughed; general assistance payments for basic needs to 53,000 BIA benefit recipients were delayed; and estimated 25,000 American Indians did not receive timely payment of oil and gas royalties.
American Veterans. Major curtailment in services, ranging from health and welfare to finance and travel was experienced.
Federal Contractors. Of $18 billion in Washington area contracts, $3.7 billion (over 20%) were managed by agencies affected by the funding lapse; the National Institute of Standards, was unable to issue a new standard for lights and lamps, scheduled to be effective January 1, 1996; and employees of federal contractors were furloughed without pay. http://www.rules.house.gov/...
Republicans have a convenient amnesia on the fallout from that catastrophe.
Steve Kornacki writes in Salon,
Here’s the problem: The 1995 shutdown was a certifiable disaster for Gingrich and the GOP -- the moment they let Clinton, whose presidency had appeared over after the ’94 midterms, back into the game.
From the instant the shutdown began that November, the public sided overwhelmingly with the president, whose job approval ratings instantly recovered to levels not seen since the early days of his presidency. Long derided as slippery and spineless, Clinton portrayed his veto as an act of principle and responsible leadership, while the Republicans were made to look like immature ideological zealots. Virtually overnight, Clinton took the lead in 1996 trial heats against Dole, which he never surrendered....
Quickly, Gingrich and the GOP agreed to a stopgap measure to reopen the government, one without the cuts they sought. When that expired in mid-December, another shutdown ensued, this one lasting until Jan. 6. In that time, nearly 300,000 federal workers were furloughed while 480,000 "essential" employees worked for free. Politically, the outcome was no different: The GOP took the brunt of the blame, while Clinton established presidential stature.
"It’s beginning to look like we can't run the government," Marge Roukema, one of the few GOP moderates left in the House, said at the time. http://www.salon.com/...
Truer words were never spoken. Republicans CAN’T run the government. What’s more, they can’t admit they were wrong then and wrong now. They don’t know how to drive, we are still reeling and bleeding from the last time they crashed the car, and they are shrilly, stridently, angrily demanding the keys back for another drunken joyride.
We must stop them. We will stop them. We will vote Democratic on November 2, 2010.
Note: Voter registration deadlines are coming sooner than you may think. Check your state’s requirements here (also D.C. and overseas voter registration information): http://www.dailykos.com/...