…Oh, yes. Let us fear another shutdown. FEAR it!

I know that I already wrote about this guy, but:

“You’re a minority. You’re a minority in Congress and you’re a minority in the country,” [John McCain staffer Mark Salter] lectured the tea party wing ahead of the ill-fated government shutdown of 2013. “So go ahead and follow Sarah Palin. Let’s put the Senate on Cruz control. Let’s shame those squishes to the firing line. Filibuster the bill. Let Harry Reid pull it off the Senate floor. Shut down the government. I think you’ll find the Democrats you expected to yield to the persuasive power of your kamikaze tactics are only too happy to test your resolve.”

“Minority in the country?”  Well, let’s see how we did in the 2014 elections, then.

  • +9 seats in the Senate.
  • +13 seats in the House.
  • +1 governor’s seats (even counting the 2013 VA loss), including gains in IL, MA, and MD; and retaining FL, KS, & ME.
  • +9 branches of the state legislatures.

…I do not think that phrase means what Mark Salter thinks that it means.

Moe Lane

PS: Not that every shutdown will get us that result, more’s the pity. Some shutdowns might even actually hurt us.  But the inherent political foolishness of shutdowns is not the no-brainer that the media pretends that it is.

PPS: Noah’s a good guy, so please go easy on him for the ‘ill-fated’ bit. It did probably hurt Ken Cuccinelli, which is of course a shame and a tragedy. I’d certainly rather see him there in Richmond than McAuliffe…

7 thoughts on “…Oh, yes. Let us fear another shutdown. FEAR it!”

  1. I think what he meant was the “Tea Party” types are a minority, which is true. Perhaps an overreaction to the many, many “TeaPartiers” who keep threatening to stay home come the election, “If the Establishment nominates another R***!” (Not the ones who ran for office, they seem quite sane. But man, a lot of the rank and file seem to burn for defeat……)

    1. Mark Salter doesn’t consider the ones who ran for office to be sane.

      Though considering the fact that Salter has effectively spent his days since 08 fluffing John McCain, one has to wonder about his sanity.

    2. Again:

      +9 seats in the Senate.
      +13 seats in the House.
      +1 governor’s seats (even counting the 2013 VA loss), including gains in IL, MA, and MD; and retaining FL, KS, & ME.
      +9 branches of the state legislatures.

      Nobody who does that “burns for defeat”. We do, however, yearn for conservatism. Big difference.

      2. Note those numbers are Republican numbers. And, alas, some of those who “yearn for conservatism” do burn for defeat. Note, for example “Ace of Spades”, which couldn’t wait for the end of the Lame Duck session to proclaim the failure of the Republican Congress, and the need for a list of Republicans to “punish”….. Sign.

        1. There is a list of Republican we need to Punish, several who were elected in 2010 campaigning as conservatives who now, having seen the defeat of all primary challengers think they’re freaking invincible.

          Renee Ellmers was the first nominated, and yes she should be punished. John McCain should also be on that list.

  2. “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”
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    Mew
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    p.s. Classical reference: http://www.amazon.com/Dune-Frank-Herbert/dp/0441172717

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