Has a government shutdown ever benefited the party that causes the shutdown?
Since I started following politics each and every shutdown blew up in the face of the party that caused the shutdown. They don't get what they wanted and their approval tumbles in the polls. That tumble may be short-lived (the 2013 shutdown hurt the Republican poll numbers badly, but by the time the 2014 election rolled around that was ancient history. Also, the Republicans learned their lesson and avoided a shutdown the following year, which helped them to gain seats in 2014), but it doesn't advance their cause in any way. That's just the political reality.
So add that to the long list of things the President doesn't know. Apparently, he thinks that giving the Democrats an opportunity to stand up for what they believe in while Republicans make people's lives more difficult gives him some kind of advantage in the budget negotiations.
ADDING: If you want to see the administration's twisted thought processes, look at its confused answers about "a good shutdown."
Since I started following politics each and every shutdown blew up in the face of the party that caused the shutdown. They don't get what they wanted and their approval tumbles in the polls. That tumble may be short-lived (the 2013 shutdown hurt the Republican poll numbers badly, but by the time the 2014 election rolled around that was ancient history. Also, the Republicans learned their lesson and avoided a shutdown the following year, which helped them to gain seats in 2014), but it doesn't advance their cause in any way. That's just the political reality.
So add that to the long list of things the President doesn't know. Apparently, he thinks that giving the Democrats an opportunity to stand up for what they believe in while Republicans make people's lives more difficult gives him some kind of advantage in the budget negotiations.
ADDING: If you want to see the administration's twisted thought processes, look at its confused answers about "a good shutdown."
