FreedomWorks Foundation Content

The Government Shutdown: Who is really to Blame?

The fight to defund Obamacare has been heating up quite a bit recently.  As the battle over the current Continuing Resolution to fund the government comes to a head, the Democrats in the Senate have lobbed many serious accusations against conservatives.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called Americans who want to stop the implementation of this law “fanatics” and “anarchists.”  Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said that trying to defund Obamacare is an insane policy and that Republicans have taken the country hostage.

Democrats claim that, if a deal is not reached by October 1, the Republicans will be responsible for the impending government shutdown.  This claim is absolutely ridiculous.

The Democrats have conveniently forgotten the fact that Congress wouldn’t even have to vote on a Continuing Resolution if the Senate had passed a realistic budget this year.  Rather than proposing a serious budget that would lower the deficit and encourage economic growth, Senator Patty Murray’s (D-WA) bill was a liberal wish-list of spending and tax increases.  To top it all off, her plan would never balance the budget.  Prior to the Senate’s symbolic vote to approve the Murray budget this year, they had not even passed a budget since April 29, 2009.

For some perspective, here are five things to help you remember just how long ago that was:

1. LeBron James was still a Cleveland Cavalier

2. “Hannah Montana: The Movie” had just been released in theaters

3. The Black Eyed Peas “Boom Boom Pow” was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list

4. Michael Jackson was still rehearsing for his “This Is It” tour

5. The final episode of “ER” had just been aired

By contrast, the House of Representatives has passed a workable budget every year since 2011, when the Republicans took control.  These budget resolutions are normally how the process of funding the government gets started.  However, because the Democrats in the Senate refuse to pass a realistic budget, government agencies have to live paycheck to paycheck with these Continuing Resolutions.

And that’s how we’ve arrived at where we are today.  The United States of America is one week away from a government shutdown.  It’s about time the American people understand who is really to blame.