You people seriously are delusional. This was not a winning strategy for us, polls showed that we were losing despite Obama’s crappy ratings as well (and the tide was turning even more against us the longer the shutdown lasted).
I don’t like it, but there just was no strategic way to win this situation, when we only have one house of government and the president can very simply say the House is holding things up.
I was optimistic, but this played out pretty much just like the president predicted, as well as the GOP voices who cautioned against a shutdown.
Victory was simply impossible. Sure, he MAY have (and even that’s doubtful) caved after January or so. But, by that point, there is no doubt we would have had a credit downgrade etc., and that’s not something you should want to get political advantage over.
defeatist attitude right there. spending bills originate in the house. All Boehner had to do was continuously send over to the senate CR bills, or budget bills funding the entire government-obamacare.
But that would have meant having a speaker with at least one testicle.