Looming Democrat-caused Federal Government Shutdown

So, we're going to shut down the Federal Government, small pieces of it anyway, for a little while. The House GOP thinks so...

Republican leaders are preparing the House for a government shutdown, as they plan to distribute a pamphlet about the mechanics of a partial congressional work-stoppage to all lawmakers’ offices Tuesday morning, according to several senior House aides.

It’s the strongest signal yet that House Speaker John Boehner believes the White House and Congress could fail to strike a deal on a long-term funding bill before the government’s authority to spend money runs out on Friday. Talks came to a standstill Monday, amid amplified partisan recriminations.

And the administration thinks so...

The process of shutting down the federal government is underway.

With the clock ticking towards Friday’s federal budget deadline and President Obama hosting congressional leaders for budget talks at the White House on Tuesday, top administration officials have instructed agency officials to begin sharing details of shutdown contingency plans with top managers. This marks the next step toward both curtailing government operations if a budget impasse occurs and informing federal workers whether they are considered “essential” personnel who would stay on the job despite a shutdown.

Count me as giving two thumbs way up. There won't be enough of it down long enough to make a real dent in the financial crisis, but it's better than caving and continuing to spend in a manner that makes drunken sailors look like conservative, prudent financial managers.

(Q: What's the difference between the spending habits of drunken sailors and the spending habits of politicians?
A: Drunken sailors spend their own money, and stop spending when it's gone!)

But there's one point that cannot be made often enough. There may be is partisan wrangling going on right now, but this is not a bipartisan shutdown. The Democrats, and the Democrats alone, are responsible for this situation. And if we had an objective media in this country, rather than just the media wing of the Democratic Party, everyone would know it. If there were a truly objective press, every single story on this coming shutdown would include, in its opening paragraph, the information that this shutdown results from the failure of the last Congress, in which the House was run by Democrats and the Senate was run by Democrats, to even attempt to pass a 2011 budget for the Democrat President to sign. Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid and President Obama had plenty of opportunity to fund the Federal Government for the 2011 Fiscal year, and chose not to.

So, here's a primer on the shutdown for the media to use (which they won't, because it doesn't fit with their perma-storyline of Democrats-good, Republicans-badgreedyracist)...

Q: Why is the Federal Government going to shut down?
A: Because there's no budget.

Q: Why is there no budget?
A: Because the Democrats thought that passing one would be more politically damaging to them than not passing one.

Q: Are you sure it isn't because the Republicans blocked it?
A: Quite sure. The Republicans had no power to block a budget. The Democrats never even attempted to pass one.

Q: So which party is responsible for the government shutdown?
A1: (US Media) The eeeeeevil, greedy, heartless, desirous-of-old-people-dying-in-the-streets Republicans!
A2: (Reality) The Democrats.