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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Does Harry Reid Want A Government Shutdown?

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  February 28th, 2011 at 11:32 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

If the continuing resolution is not passed by this Friday, the government will shut down — not that this is a bad thing.

Everyone in Washington is claiming they don’t want a shutdown, but Harry Reid’s actions suggest he does. Instead of dealing with the continuing resolution when the Senate gets back for business this week, he will take up patent reform instead.

The patent legislation is rather controversial, changing the patent granting standard from “first to invent” to “first to file”, meaning that you may invent something, but unless you file your patent before someone else does, the other person gets the patent.

Yes, the patent office needs to be reformed as does the patent process. Companies now have to spend large sums on patent fights. Software is now treated as a patent issue instead of a copyright issue, expanding litigation efforts and stifling innovation.

But listening to Democrats and Republicans in Washington, there is no more pressing issue than preventing a government shutdown.

So why then is Harry Reid putting off consideration of the continuing resolution? Either he wants a government shutdown, or he is admitting the GOP has won.

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  • edintexas

    Is the Pope Catholic?

  • izoneguy

    You know Obama & Reid will play this game until 2012…..

  • Ausonius

    An excerpt:

    “A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 33% of Likely U.S. Voters would rather have Congress avoid a government shutdown by authorizing spending at the same levels as last year. Fifty-eight percent (58%) says it?s better to have a partial shutdown until Democrats and Republicans can agree on what spending to cut. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

    The partisan differences are striking. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Democrats prefer avoiding a shutdown by going with current spending levels. But 80% of Republicans — and 59% of voters not affiliated with either major party — think a shutdown is a better option until the two sides can agree on spending cuts. ”

    See:

    http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/february_2011/58_favor_government_shutdown_until_spending_cuts_are_agreed_upon

    So, a question:

    Is Harry Reid FINALLY doing what the people want? :)

  • IJB

    Reid and other Dems have made a political calculation that a gov’t shutdown benefits themselves and fellow Dems nationally.

    Now, it turns out that Dems are *wrong* about that (and Reid’s obvious dithering so the gov’t shuts down as a result isn’t helping them).

    But, no matter – this is the political calculation they’ve made.

  • victrola

    Reid and Obama’s dream would be Social Security checks are temporarily suspended. The problem is, it’s going to be hard to lay that a shutdown at Republican’s feet when Democrats control the White House and Senate.

    Democrats also jumped the shark with all the “walkout” going on, they gave up the moral high ground and the public knows that the Dems are the ones that are being unreasonable.

  • http://www.examiner.com/x-1597-Charlotte-Law--Politics-Examiner Mike gamecock DeVine
  • unclefred

    My prediction is that Harry, having lost this round, wants to change the focus, rev up a dog and pony show on patents, and then as quickly as possible with 0 fanfare – pass the CR.

    This has a good chance of working, the MSM has no desire to make the Dems look bad. This way having “tolerated” the irresponsible house to gain the time for prudent budget decisions, the Dems are tackle the “draconian” house cuts.
    It’s all for show people

  • gwalt

    Let’s start calling press conferences with the different scenarios. Talk above, beyond and over the media. They shouldn’t be allowed to frame ANY debate. They are liars, shills and traitors.

  • bk

    You know there will be sob story after sob story running about some poor person whose life is ruined by a gov’t shutdown. But if there is even a grain of truth on the airwaves, it will be hard for the GOP to be called the obstructionists when they’ve offered both a short-term and a long-term CR and the Senate is too busy taking vacations to worry about funding the gov’t.

  • pashley1411

    the Dems were quite willing to 1) run away, and 2) march on the Capitol, and 3) Call it a success.

    Look, the focus isn’t on “governing” That’s boring; a lack of money, unintended consequences, its all so constraining.

    The focus here on out will be to mobilize the base for 2012. And we’re not talking about saving the butt of some blue-dog in Missouri. The need is to save the executive branch, maintain control of the administration, and then bargain for money for programs and states that support the Dems. Who cares whtat the numbers are in the House of Reps so long as the Dems can position themselves for the 10′s of billions needed to bailout CA, IL, and NY.

  • Tbone

    Every Republican Rep/Senator ought to take out an ad in their local paper saying exactly this.

    Time to spend some money to get the truth out.

  • rhughes70

    Hey, it’s only fair. If government people won’t get a paycheck until the budget is passed, neither should the members of congress. If they can’t get their job done, they should feel the pain as the rest of us who don’t do our job.

  • http://www.helpawhiteguy.com livefreenh

    …and no back pay when it starts back up. Otherwise, it is just a paid vacation.

    This would be a great time to find out how much government we really need. It seems that the majority of their work is consumed by them telling us how much we need them.

  • cam1

    that the Republicans have the guts? If they did, it would show the people that we have principle, something absent from American politics for some time now.

  • ag8tor

    gay marriage. Isn’t that what his excellency was going to tackle instead of the looming oil crisis. Now you tell me that this moron Reid is worried about patents? It really makes my head hurt. Typical of Dems like the ones in Wisconsin to try to get out of having to make the tough calls. What is it about being a lib that makes them so cowardly? What is it that makes them hate America so?

  • lizaz

    so he can blame the Republicans. He’d be talking about it every day until Nov 2012 so hopefully it won’t happen.

  • uselogic

    (Sorry! It just slipped out.)

  • uselogic

    (Sorry! It just slipped out.)

  • politicallydisgusted

    Just like a staged magic show, have everyone concentrating on the insignificant so the dirty work slips by unnoticed. Typical bait and switch.
    Did anyone really feel left out with the govt shutdown in 1995?
    Did anyone really notice?
    Was there a real impact on anyone’s life?