U.S. government shutdown: Republicans, Democrats and the blame game

For the cynical political observer, the greatest concern forRepublicans and Democrats coming out of the partial government shutdown may not be theshort or long term effects on the country, but rather which party will shoulder the blame for the continuing impasse.

So far, the Democrats seem to be winning thatpublic relations battle,with polls showing a large majorityof Americans squarely holding Republicans responsible for the 800,000 federal employees forced off their jobs andthe closure of a series of non-essential government services.

Republican attempts to saddle thespending bill with provisionsto delay parts ofObamacareis the wrong tactic to take, say many, including those who don't support the law.

SomeRepublicans are evenblaming their own party members for the stalemate they fear will ultimately hurt the party.

"This is Ted Cruzs fault. Ted Cruz led us down this path," New York Congressman Peter King told Fox News,referringto the Tea Party favourite senator, who led a 21-hour marathon speech againstObamacare. "This was a disaster from the start, I could have predicted this."

• U.S. government shutdown: What's next?
• Neil Macdonald: The perverse math behind the Republican budget showdown
• U.S. government shutdown: What's open and what's closed

Meanwhile, Democrats and liberal commentators continue to use fiery rhetoric to hammer on the same themethatObamacareis the 'law of the land,'it's been upheld by the Supreme Court, thatRepublicans only control one branch of government, and that the Republicans have effectively taken hostage of the government.

"The Affordable Care Act has been thelaw of the land for four years. Democrats are willing to work with reasonable Republicans to improve this law. But we will not bow to Tea Party anarchists who deny the mere fact thatObamacareis the law," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

'Bomb strapped to their chest'

Or, as senior White House adviser DanPfeiffersaid, "What we're not for is negotiating with people with a bomb strapped to their chest."

Writing for the New York Times, columnist Tom Friedman took it a step further andsuggested that the fate of democracy is at stake,thatObama should not give in to"this hostage taking" and that the issue is not just about defendinghealth care.

"Hes defending the health of our democracy. Every American who cherishes that should stand with him," he wrote.

Daily Show host Jon Stewart may have summed up much of the sentiment with his expletive-filled rant against Republicans. He also stressedthatObamacareis the law, dismissedthe Republican strategy as"utter insanity,"and compared the party to a football team losing by 24 points and saying ifthey don't get 25 points on Monday, they will shut down the NFL.

But Republicans and conservatives are fighting back, pointing their ownfingers. It's the Democratsand the president, not Republicans, who are holding the country 'hostage' by refusing to budge, they claim.

While the Republicans may not control all the branches of government, the same could be said about the Democrats, and so they too must be willing to negotiate, some say. Others have sneered that Obama is willing to negotiate with the Iranian president but not House Speaker John Boehner.

I just think its outrageous that Harry Reid will not sit down and negotiate about something thats troubling to a lot of Americans, and thats the implementation of the new health-care law,RepublicanPatrickTiberitold reporters.

'They are the dogmatists'

PeterWehner, formerdeputy assistant to GeorgeW. Bush when he was president, echoedTiberi'scomments, saying that Obama and the DemocraticCongressare the "inflexible and unyielding ones."

"They are the dogmatists in this drama," Wehnerwrote in Commentary Magazine.

WhileWehnersaid theRepublicanstrategy ispolitically unwise, he defended it aslegitimate and reasonable, saying members of Congress are just using levers available to them.

On Wednesday, Obama summoned congressional leaders to the White House. But even that move was met with some derision. Shortly after the announcement, a spokesman forBoehnershot back:"We're pleased the president finally recognizes that his refusal to negotiate is indefensible."

• U.S. government shutdown could make Washington a smelly city
• U.S. government shutdown scuppers weddings, KKK rally

Many Republicans have also rejected the "law of the land"argument regarding Obamacare. Jay Cost,writingfor The Weekly Standard, said theDemocrats arebasically arguing that once abill becomeslaw, "it is as indelible as the Ten Commandments, etched into rock by the hand of God himself."

He pointedout that it was the Democrats whomounted a 10-year campaign against the Bush tax cuts,despite defeat after defeat on the issue. He then listed a number of so-called laws of the land that have been substantially revised or repealedentirely,including: portions of tax cuts initiated byformer presidents RonaldReagan and John F. Kennedy, the gold standard, Prohibition andthe Articles of Confederation.

Some Republicanshave also accusedObama of hypocrisy.WhileObamacaremay be the law of the land, the president himself has been willing to delay parts of it, including the mandate that forcesbusinesses to provide health insurance. (Some have gone so far to say Obama's moves are unconstitutional, that only Congress has that authority).

But many analysts, including Republicans,say regardless of who is to blame, the issue isa political loser for the Republicans.

"It's an iron law that Republicans get blamed for any government shutdown, no matter who controls the White House or Congress," former Bush strategist Karl Rove said.