In Congress, a not-so-brief case of delusion over government shutdown
By Dana Milbank, WashPost, Published: September 30
I almost shut down the government.
As I waited outside a meeting of the House Republican caucus in the Capitol basement Monday afternoon, I put down my briefcase next to a flowerpot and walked around the corner to catch lawmakers as they exited. Minutes later, an aide to Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) came bounding down the hall toward me, calling out, “Is that your bag?”
The Capitol police had identified it as a suspicious package and isolated it. Had I not claimed the briefcase, they may well have evacuated the Republicans from their strategy session — and I would have been responsible for them failing to come up with a final plan to avert the shutdown.
As it turns out, the Republicans didn’t need help from me to blow things up.
Shortly after the briefcase incident, GOP lawmakers emerged touting their third list of demands that President Obama and the Democrats would have to meet. Like the previous two, this one was a non-starter, essentially requiring Obama to abandon the signature achievement of his presidency as the price for Republicans allowing the government to function.
(More here.)
I almost shut down the government.
As I waited outside a meeting of the House Republican caucus in the Capitol basement Monday afternoon, I put down my briefcase next to a flowerpot and walked around the corner to catch lawmakers as they exited. Minutes later, an aide to Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) came bounding down the hall toward me, calling out, “Is that your bag?”
The Capitol police had identified it as a suspicious package and isolated it. Had I not claimed the briefcase, they may well have evacuated the Republicans from their strategy session — and I would have been responsible for them failing to come up with a final plan to avert the shutdown.
As it turns out, the Republicans didn’t need help from me to blow things up.
Shortly after the briefcase incident, GOP lawmakers emerged touting their third list of demands that President Obama and the Democrats would have to meet. Like the previous two, this one was a non-starter, essentially requiring Obama to abandon the signature achievement of his presidency as the price for Republicans allowing the government to function.
(More here.)
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