Who's to blame for the looming government shutdown?
Budget talks between Republicans and Democrats have devolved into a finger-pointing stalemate. A deal by the April 8 deadline looks increasingly unlikely. Whose fault is that?
Two short-term spending agreements temporarily averted a possible government shutdown earlier this year, but now, Congress has run out of delay strategies. The federal government really will shut down if the GOP-controlled House and the Democratic-led Senate can't agree on a long-term budget by April 8. So far, House Republicans have passed a budget for the current fiscal year with $61 billion in discretionary spending cuts, and Democrats have reportedly countered with a broader package of about $30 billion in cuts — far more than the Left wanted to concede, but not nearly enough to appease the Tea Party Right. If Congress can't reach a deal, a prospect that is rapidly fading, who should we blame?
1. Democrats
If Nancy Pelosi and her party had "done their job last year," and passed a budget for this fiscal year, there would be no threat of a shutdown, says Robert Stacy McCain at The Other McCain. But they postponed dealing with the budget until after the midterms, so "any attempt to scapegoat the GOP for this situation is nothing but a damned lie." Besides, the Democrats' counteroffer is so insignificant, says Karen Beseth in The Lonely Conservative, it's "like me cutting a trip to McDonald's to save my family budget."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Republicans
The GOP isn't interested in the deficit, they're interested in scoring political points, says Ezra Klein in The Washington Post. They're balking at the Democrats' offer because it doesn't "cut in the way the GOP wants," not because the cuts aren't deep enough. Listening to House leaders, you "wouldn't know that Democrats, who control both the White House and the Senate, technically have a lot more power than Republicans." Basically, the GOP is offering "a raised middle finger" to the Democrats' outstretched hand, and "doing everything possible to force a government shutdown," says Jed Lewison in Daily Kos. This "overreach" will come back to bite them.
3. The White House
President Obama named Vice President Joe Biden his point man on the budget talks, but "Republicans say Biden has been virtually invisible since an initial March 4 meeting to start negotiations," says Matt Negrin in Politico. Meanwhile, Democrats say Biden is "the closer," a role he played in last December's tax cuts deal, and is keeping close tabs on the stalled negotiations. But "the White House could step in and negotiate the deal directly with House Republicans," like it did in December, says David Dayen in Firedoglake. So far, they have not.
4. Tea Partiers
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) placed the blame for the deadlock squarely on a "division between the Tea Party and mainstream Republicans." The "Tea Party Republicans are scrapping all the progress we have made and threatening to shut down the government if they do not get all of their extreme demands," he groused. "Reid certainly has cause for frustration," says Alex Altman in TIME. But it's more House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) using "the specter of a Tea Party revolt to pull off a coup," rather than the "rank-and-file hard-liners" actually making themselves an obstacle.
5. The media
Republicans point out that the only people hyperventilating about a government shutdown have been "Democrats (and reporters)," says Brian Beutler at Talking Points Memo. And if there is a shutdown, "the sympathetic liberal media" will blather on "about all the suffering that shutdown is causing," says Rob Port at Say Anything. And that "could very well sour the public at large on a push for spending cuts."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What would it be like in jail for Trump if he's convicted?
Today's Big Question The Secret Service has begun grappling with how to protect a former president behind bars
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How much can you save shopping secondhand?
The Explainer Many Americans are buying pre-owned items to counteract the effects of inflation
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Downtown St. Louis is in a real estate 'doom loop'
Under the Radar The city is ripe with abandoned buildings and vacant lots, with its real estate market in dire straits
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published