You Can NOT Be Serious

No doubt fearing a replay of the public reaction the last time Republicans shut down the government, this time around they're doing their best preëmptively to blame it on Democrats. As the deadline re-approaches, they've come up with something so perfect -- as metaphor, that is -- that it must be believed to be seen.

It's "The Government Shutdown Prevention Act," the purpose of which, according to their leadership, is to "show we're serious." Right. Serious. (Happy April Fools' Day.)

House Republicans announced Wednesday that they would take up a largely symbolic bill this week that would make their long-term spending plan law if the Senate fails to act on a similar measure.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said at a press conference that Republicans would consider the Government Shutdown Prevention Act on Friday. The bill would make H.R. 1 law if the Senate fails to pass a measure “before April 6” to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. H.R. 1, which passed the House but has gone nowhere in the Senate, would fund the government through the end of September and seeks to cut $61 billion in spending.

The Government Shutdown Prevention Act also says Member salaries will be frozen in the event of a government shutdown or if the debt ceiling is reached.

“We’re serious. We want to take care of this problem so we can get on about the business of this nation and get Americans back to work,” Cantor said.

I guess the assumption is that most Americans don't know what it takes to make a bill become law. Not an unreasonable assumption, of course, given their proclivity towards birtherism, fear of Sharia becoming law of the land, and forgetting when our economic problems began, and why.

So, instead of showing they're serious by buckling down and getting, well, serious, the House teapublicans prefer to bullshit the public. Make 'em think the reason for shutdown has nothing to do with their indefensible intransigence. Ignore the fact that they want to give more money to the rich folk while taking it away from the neediest. While devoting all of their efforts to measures that have nothing to do with "getting Americans back to work." That sort of thing.

Then, there's this. Further shifting blame for their unwillingness to compromise, to understand how the system was designed to work, they'll march on the Senate.

More show, less tell. Will it work? Is the Newt Catholic?