Posted on 08/22/2014 4:51:49 AM PDT by Kaslin
...before the 2014 midterm elections, that is. After that all bets are off, it seems, and there are no guarantees.
Inspiring.
And yet public opinion shows pretty convincingly that Republicans were on the losing end politically of last year’s partial-government shutdown. For two weeks, government offices, major tourist attractions, and even the open-air World War II Memorial in D.C. were temporarily closed. And while Republicans did their best to expose the White House’s calculated and incredibly petulant efforts to exploit the crisis, most Americans pinned the blame squarely on congressional Republicans. No surprises there. You might even recall that's exactly what happened the last time congressional lawmakers found themselves negotiating during a government shutdown.
Nonetheless, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) recently told Roll Call that House Republicans have supposedly learned from their past missteps. To that end, he said, they are committed to passing a spending resolution funding the government at least through December:
On a possible government shutdown: In his book, Ryan calls the 2013 shutdown a “suicide mission” for the House GOP, and on Wednesday he told CQ Roll Call he agreed that Republicans were easy to blame for the events that transpired.
But House Republicans won’t repeat that mistake this September, Ryan predicted: “We will pass a clean [continuing resolution], and if for some reason the Democrats don’t take that, then they will clearly have shut the government down … it will be patently obvious … that they are playing politics with this, and trying to trigger a shutdown so they can blame us, but we’re really blameless in this particular situation.”
Ryan’s confidence that his conference will cooperate in passing a stop-gap spending bill free of controversial policy riders — ”until Dec. 11 is what we’re thinking,” said Ryan — contradicts Democrats’ cries over the past few days that the GOP is spoiling for another shutdown that could cost them the election in November.
The last thing the GOP needs, I think, is to be blamed for another government shutdown just before Election Day 2014.
What, if anything, could damage or diminish their electoral prospects more?
What a loser he turned into...
Member of the surrender caucus.
If shutting down the government was so bad for Republicans, why is the media also reporting that Republicans are expected to hold the House majority and win Senate majority? What exactly was "bad" about it for Republicans? Liberals media writing bad things about them?
Backstabber Romney and Ryan (another of his flock of toadies)
blame everyone —but themselves— for their failures.
Romney and Ryan are directly responsible for the re-election
of Obama (by doing NOTHING) and for then stealing
all GOP money, only 5 minutes before they ‘gave up’.
“We certainly don’t want the American people to suffer the torture they experienced the last time we stupidly forced that painful and unnecessary shutdown. We are so sorry. We won’t ever let that happen again.
“In fact, we are going to make sure every Federal office is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. “
I'll never again support a candidate bought and paid for by the Chamber of Commerce.
It's really sickening to see Romney and Ryan yucking it up about losing the last election. Wouldn't have happened if they didn't back off on criticizing Obama. I don't see what's funny about four more years of Obama, and can't imagine why voters would risk either one of them having a losing campaign again.
Did Romney's backing off on going tough on the Benghazi issue enable more weapons to get to what became ISIS? I think that's a fair question.
To the degree that the Republican suffered during the government shutdown, it was largely a failure of public relations. Even conceding the pernicious role of the media slanting that news, the Republicans had the better side of the argument but they would not make it. Indeed, they undermined the idea of a government shutdown beginning from the instant it was noted so that it was impossible for Ted Cruz to argue its virtues spending alone against Democrats, the media and his own party.
This is not only a case of cowardice but of betrayal. Rino Republicans sold out to crony capitalism as thoroughly as have the Democrats.
At what cost? The Republican establishment threw away Congress' power of the purse just as they have thrown away threats of impeachment, leaving Obama entirely unintimidated and politically free to commit his depredations. Now we will reap what we have sown. Does it really matter who controls the Senate in January 2015?
Paul Ryan will soon fall into the same disfavor that Mitch McConnell and other Rino Senators have tasted. Deservedly so.
They won’t do that and they won’t impeach.
So Obama has carte blanche to go right on ruling by decree.
Have no idea what to do, but they are killing this country.
I’ve gotten used to saying that Rand Paul is the fastest and most complete sellout I have ever seen. Paul Ryan wants to give him a run for some other people’s money. Ryan was a perfect running mate for Mitt. Bought and paid for by the cronies.
What they “learned” is to kick tea partiers in the balls every chance they get.
Why do Repubs always let the adversary set the narrative?!
Don’t blindly answer a loaded question that in it’s asking, sets a false premise.
Journalist are not objective.
Confront them! Don’t accept the premise of their questions! Answer a question with a question, or make a statement about something unrelated to their bogus question.
Put journalistas on the defensive.
Ryan you IDIOT! When you are taling to the LSM, you are talking to a Progressive Operative who is seeking to entrap you with the question.
Journalist: “Well mr Ryan, How many babies did you kill today”?
Ryan: “Well I’ll have you know I didn’t kill any babies today”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.