Burning Down the House

The government is currently shutdown. Be prepared for no noticeable difference. The government wasn't working anyways.

By a 54-46 party-line vote, the Senate killed a proposal that would have kept the federal government operating into the new fiscal year.

By a 54-46 party-line vote, the Senate killed a proposal that would have kept the federal government operating into the new fiscal year.

By a 54-46 party-line vote, the Senate killed a proposal that would have kept the federal government operating into the new fiscal year.

 
"They've lost their minds. They keep trying to do the same thing over and over again," Mr. Reid said of House Republicans as he kept doing the same thing over and over again.

I use this example to illustrate the absurdity of the situation, like it or not, Senate Democrats are acting exactly the same way as House Republicans and Mr. Reid is an ignoramus if he can't see that. 

By a 54-46 party-line vote, the Senate killed a proposal that would have allowed the Senate and House to resolve this issue in conference.  

On this issue, Mr. Reid is wrong.    Senate Procedure, p449

Conference committees are created by the two Houses of Congress to resolve the differences in the respective versions of any item of legislation which they both pass. This is made necessary because bills and resolutions on the same general subject, especially controversial ones, are regularly passed or adopted by the two bodies in different forms. Before any such single measure can become law, however, any differences in the two passed versions must be compromised.  Both Houses must eventually pass every measure in an identical form before any such measure may be enrolled or become law.  Link

But don't think I'm blaming just the Democrats.  This issue should have gone to conference weeks ago, but Mr. Boehner didn't want to go to conference weeks ago, in fact he didn't want to go to conference until about 11 P.M. the night of the 30th.

Despite their blathering about apocalypse and responsibility, eight of the eighteen government shutdowns came with a Democratic controlled House and Senate, five of which occurred with a Democratic President to boot.  Only two of the remaining shutdowns came from a Republican controlled House and Senate, both under Clinton. For all their protestation, the Democrats are as guilty as the Republicans in this one.

The indoctrinated, left and right will hop up in the grandstands and wave their team flag on this one.  One can only hope that the more intelligent among us will see through this Kabuki theater and vote accordingly in the future.  Or better yet...

Let's Start a Protest

Go down to your County Clerk's office, or however your locale does it, and change your affiliation to independent or unaffiliated, whatever your state calls it .  Wouldn't you love to see the reaction of the Republican and Democratic Parties if people started leaving in droves?

If you want to vote in your preferred party's primary, make sure you understand the law in your state, and what the requirements to vote in a primary are.  In Colorado an unaffiliated voter may declare an affiliation on election day and vote in that party's primary.

Cheers!

~Finntann