Gingrich Closed Down the Government?
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
December 4, 2011 2:58am CST
What a completely idiotic accusation!
First of all, the only reason the government ever shuts down is when there is a stalemate. For those of you who don't know, a stalemate is when TWO or more parties can't come to any kind of agreement by a specific time.
That's right TWO or more parties. That means ONE person cannot cause a stalemate. That means Gingrich never caused the stalemate that shut down the government during his time as Speaker of the House.
To say that Gingrich was at fault without including Clinton is only showing your ignorance of our political system and what the word "stalemate" means.
I would also say that there is no great problem for the government to send home all "non essential workers". In fact, during budget crunches and recessions, I think the list of "non essential workers" should be reviewed. If they are non essential during emergencies, they might just be non essential period.
2 people like this
5 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
4 Dec 11
Isn't this just par for the course? Gingrich is out ahead now and presents a threat to Obama, so they'll dust off any lie, complaint or suspicion to discredit him. Just like they did Cain. Just like they'll do anyone who seems to be any threat to their agenda.
1 person likes this
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
8 Dec 11
I remember the government being shut down twice. Once with President Clinton and congress sent him a budget and he rejected it. Congress, controlled by the Republicans, was to blame. Under President Bush the Democrat Congress presented a budget to him which he rejected. President Bush was to blame for the shut down. In both cases the congress sent a budget to the president who vetoed it and in both cases the Republicans were to blame.
It is just like now when the House passes a bill and sends it to the Senate and they refuse to vote on it. The President then says that the Republicans are a do nothing congress. Republicans control the House and the Democrats control the Senate.
If the media were doing their job we would be getting the facts and let us decide who is to blame for the problem.
@GardenGerty (169439)
• United States
5 Dec 11
Sometimes people just like to pop out with an opinion without paying attention to what they say--such as on the topic of a stalemate. Of course it takes more than one person to cause it. Non essential workers, that is a bit different. I imagine some of them are redundant, and never essential, but some, who are non essential during a crisis just might be essential in cleaning up after said crisis or shut down. I will let you kick about half of them out on general principles, though.
@clrumfelt (5597)
• Tennessee Ridge, Tennessee
6 Dec 11
Gingrich did what any good legislator would do. He stood on principle for the ultimate good of the USA. Most liberals hail Clinton as the one who got the USA out of the recession of the 1990's but I credit Newt Gingrich with it (and Reagan who set the wheels in motion before the end of his term.) But if Gingrich hadn't withstood the liberals' spending they would have dug a hole so deep Clinton's popularity among liberals would be the same as one-term Jimmy Carter's,and nobody ever mentions him.
@Fortunata (1135)
• United States
4 Dec 11
I recall at the time that it was the democrats, who, just like now, are trying to pin everything on the republicans. They use the 'some other dude' scheme quite a bit, I've noticed. I think a lot of these youngsters are parroting what they see on MSNBC and CNN, and don't bother to do any fact checking. And they think WIKI is the grand poobah of encyclopedias, lol.
