There's nothing more that Republicans hate than government, and for Republican members of Congress, that's not an abstract kind of thing. That hate extends to every person working for government, who they consider basically servants. Check out Freedom Caucus lead maniac and primary actor in creating this shutdown.
"It's actually part of what you do when you sign up for any public service position," Meadows told reporters. "And it's not lost on me in terms of, you know, the potential hardship. At the same time, they know they would be required to work and even in preparation for a potential shutdown those groups within the agencies have been instructed to show up."
They signed up for this, he says, so fuck them. Not at unbelievably, he's not the only one. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) actually told reporters that it really wasn't a big deal for the more than 800,000 people about to lose pay because they'll eventually get paid back and "Who's living that they're not going to make it to the next paycheck?"
How about 78 percent of full-time workers, you colossal asshole? Maybe your $174,000 salary made you forget that.