Dems Want a Shutdown (and I'm Kind of Fond of the Idea Myself)

The budget pissing contest continues:

Washington braced for a shutdown as Republican and Democratic lawmakers headed to the White House on Tuesday in an attempt to reach a budget deal that would keep the government running beyond Friday.

With only four days to cement a deal, the two sides have yet to resolve major differences in a long-overdue budget plan that would slice a record $33 billion from current spending levels.

The White House directed government agencies to prepare for a shutdown if the U.S. Congress does not pass a budget plan before funding runs out at midnight on Friday. [ID:nN05100992]

Republicans have floated a new plan that would push the deadline back by a week and impose another $12 billion in cuts, but Democrats have called it unacceptable.

The shutdown talk could merely be posturing before the 10:15 a.m. (1515 GMT) meeting between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders, or it could be a sign that a deal may be out of reach for the time being.

"I don't know if we will need divine inspiration or divine interjection into this matter, but whatever it might take, I hope people of good will can come to an agreement," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said.

We'll know there's been divine intervention if Dick Durbin drops over dead.

Democrats don't want another continuing resolution, nor do they want a budget agreement.  They want a shutdown, thinking the public's appetite for such things is the same as it was in 1995.

It's not.

In 1995 there were limited sources of information for people about what a shutdown really meant.  Today there's lots of information, like this, that shows that there's really nothing to fear from the federal shutdown.  Unless your kid is planning to go on a Washington D.C. tour in the next couple of weeks, you're not going to see much impact on your life.

If the GOP proposes a continuing resolution with $12 billion in cuts and the Dems reject it, they should offer another one with $20 billion in cuts.  Then $30 billion...et cetera.  Keep plugging away until the Dems finally realize they're not going to win this one.