The idea that you’d shut down the federal government — or, perhaps, default on the national debt — to kill Obamacare is not just a “bad idea,” as President Barack Obama described it on Aug. 9. It’s utterly irresponsible, pure madness — and suicidal for the Republican Party to boot. With economic growth running under 2 percent a year, a government shutdown or debt default would stifle the recovery and spike unemployment. And the consequences surely would be blamed on Republicans, much as the 1995-96 government shutdown that helped re-elect Bill Clinton. (more…)
