Shut down government?

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

With a federal spending bill set to run out next month, Democratic leaders in Congress are warning of a potential government shutdown. Republicans, who took control of the House of Representatives, have taken a hard-line position on the budget, and if they refuse to compromise, that could lead to the shuttering of government services.

It could be a replay of 1995, when Republicans took control of Congress and House Speaker Newt Gingrich led his party in going toe-to-toe with Democratic President Bill Clinton over the budget. The result was two shutdowns — one for five days, the other for a record 21 days.

The shutdowns were needless, coming because Republicans wouldn’t negotiate, and they were bad for the nation. Government employees and contractors went without paychecks. People receiving federal benefits, particularly seniors and veterans, saw services cut or delayed. National parks closed, affecting not only the people who directly worked in the park but also those, particularly small businesses, that benefited from tourism.

The Congressional Research Service has concluded that government shutdowns “affect all sectors of the economy,” and given the fragile recovery, playing political games with the economy isn’t wise.

Politically, the shutdowns hurt the Republican Party, particularly Gingrich, who admitted that the shutdown was due in part to a perceived snub — he had to exit the rear of Air Force One after a trip.

Republican leaders don’t appear to be concerned about the economic issues. Instead, they are making an effort to avoid any political fallout. For several months they have been talking about a potential government shutdown by arguing that the Democrats are at fault.

Congress regularly increases the nation’s debt ceiling, providing the government a way to raise money, and Democrats are prepared to do that. But many Republicans are arguing for a cut in spending instead. Without action, the government will run out of money and there will be a shutdown.

Republicans say they aren’t pushing for a shutdown, and they accuse Democrats of making this an issue, but that’s not true. The Republicans’ take-no-prisoners stance on negotiating with the Democrats will cause problems. Republicans won’t, for example, rule out a shutdown that would cause services and benefits to stop. In fact, they seem to expect it. And they are even trying to lay the groundwork to blame President Barack Obama for any problems.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor told Fox News last year that the president has “a responsibility, as much or more so than Congress, to make sure that we are continuing to function in a way that the people want.” In other words, if Obama doesn’t do what the Republicans want, he’s to blame — never mind that Republicans have the power to block any spending bill from moving through Congress.

Rep. Spencer Bachus, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, went so far as to tell The Hill website that Obama will “probably try to force us to shut government down, and we are going to have to be brave this time.” By “brave,” Bachus is evidently referring to the belief of some conservatives that the Republicans in Congress caved in because of public outrage over the shutdowns in 1995.

That’s a real problem because it means that Republicans plan to obstruct progress once again.

Sadly, Republicans think they are carrying a mandate from the American people to do whatever they want. The message the American people tried to send Washington was that they want government to work, not shut it down.