For the first time in close to 20 years, the government has shut down. The historical inability of President Obama to negotiate with House Republicans has reached its inevitable end. Now, there is only one question to be answered: Whose fault is this?
This question will no doubt be asked hundreds of times on cable news over the course of the (hopefully short) shutdown and the answers will largely depend on the partisan allegiance of the people being asked. Sean Hannity on Fox News will blame Harry Reid and President Obama, Chris Matthews on MSNBC will blame Republicans, Piers Morgan on CNN will blame the AR-15 assault rifle.
First, the shutdown won’t be that bad. Its effect on most Americans will be severely limited, and it is unlikely to last more than a few days. There will be some inconveniences. Vacationing tourists will find national parks and presidential libraries closed across the country, for example. NASA will be shut down too, but for the most part the kinds of programs that will be temporarily halted are such necessities as “The U.S. Board on Geographic Names,” the “Indian Arts and Crafts Board” and the “Citizens Stamp Advisory Committee.”
Second, while finding someone to blame for this will be important to electoral politics in 2014, it isn’t the disaster that the media wants people to think it is. It isn’t going to cause much pain. But the blame should still be assigned.
Truthfully, everyone involved is to blame, at least in part. The Tea Party caucus in the House and Senate has been acting as if they have much more power than they really do. John Boehner has been completely unable to control and unify his caucus. Harry Reid has refused to act as if Republicans exist at all. And President Obama hasn’t led the way a president should.
President Bush had plenty of disagreements with Congressional Democrats during his time as president, but somehow he was able to avoid ever coming to this point. Obama’s entire presidency has been defined by a pattern of economic brinksmanship, a de facto requirement that all deals be made at the absolute last minute. One of the central skills necessary in leading is the ability to negotiate and compromise. President Obama can’t place all the blame on Republicans, he’s just as much at fault as they are.
The truth is that no one involved felt like they needed to avoid the shutdown, because everyone involved was secretly hoping the other parties involved would get the blame. The willingness to do something so drastic just in the hopes that your opponents will get the blame for it is wildly irresponsible.
The Ted Cruz wing of the Republican Party has a slightly more acceptable reason to hope for a shutdown. The Tea Party hopes to prove to Americans that a smaller government isn’t something to be feared. Sure, there are big important government programs, but there are many programs, and committees and boards that are completely unnecessary. For congressmen who want budget cuts, reminding the American people of programs they won’t miss is a solid strategy, even if it is a bit of an extreme and risky way to do it.
Thankfully, most shutdowns only last a few days. With any luck this will all be over soon and we can return to the status quo of merely going up to the edge of the cliff, instead of pushing each other off it and hoping it looks like they jumped.
Keene is a senior majoring in political science, economics and public policy.
