The federal government shut down at around midnight last night after Washington failed to pass a bill to fund the government. The fight was all over the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and whether or not to defund it. The Republicans were demanding that Obamacare be defunded or at least delayed. Naturally this was something that the Democrats were never going to agree to.
Quite what happens next, nobody really knows. Most pundits are predicting that the charade won't last long. The move is very unpopular and Republicans are getting the blame. A CNN poll showed 46% of Americans blaming Republicans for the shutdown, 36% for Obama and 13% for both. The longer they hold out, the worse it will get. If the Speaker of the house, John Boehner, were to table a bill that funded the whole government, it would pass as there are enough Republicans who support the measure.
It will be interesting to see how this all will effect the 2014 mid-term elections. The President's party should struggle as mid-terms never play out well for the incumbent. The likely outcome at the moment is a Republican House and a very tight Senate. If Republicans keep this shutdown for too long it could seriously hurt their chances. If they do the same with the debt ceiling it would be catastrophic.
Quite what happens next, nobody really knows. Most pundits are predicting that the charade won't last long. The move is very unpopular and Republicans are getting the blame. A CNN poll showed 46% of Americans blaming Republicans for the shutdown, 36% for Obama and 13% for both. The longer they hold out, the worse it will get. If the Speaker of the house, John Boehner, were to table a bill that funded the whole government, it would pass as there are enough Republicans who support the measure.
It will be interesting to see how this all will effect the 2014 mid-term elections. The President's party should struggle as mid-terms never play out well for the incumbent. The likely outcome at the moment is a Republican House and a very tight Senate. If Republicans keep this shutdown for too long it could seriously hurt their chances. If they do the same with the debt ceiling it would be catastrophic.
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