The polls are showing what the American people think (h/t DailyKos).
WashingtonPost:
....A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds nearly three quarters of Americans disapprove of the way Republicans in Congress are handling negotiations over the budget (74 percent), up from 63 percent since the start of the shutdown after hitting 70 percent last week. Disapproval of congressional Democrats has also risen by a smaller amount — 56 to 61 percent — since the shutdown began, owing in large part to greater approval among fellow Democrats....
As long as Republicans continue to follow their tea party members like Ted Cruz, Michelle Bachmann, and Louis Gohmert, they will continue to lose the respect of the American people.
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>>> By the way, there is even more secretive, backroom, manipulation going on with the Republicans.
TheNewCivilRightsMovement:
....Last week, the New York Times exposed some of the culprits — creators of the GOP-led government shutdown — who have been working on forcing a shutdown for months. They include former President Ronald Reagan’s scandal-plagued, anti-pornography crusading attorney general, and former Senator Jim DeMint’s Heritage Foundation’s Heritage Action lobbyists.....
....Now we learn, thanks to progressive Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen’s work, that the GOP-majority of the House Rules Committee actually changed the rules, just hours before the GOP-led government shutdown, to prevent anyone except the House Majority Leader — Eric Cantor of Virginia — from introducing legislation that will end the shutdown.
“Though at least 28 House Republicans have publicly said they would support a clean CR [continuing resolution] if it were brought to the floor — enough votes for the government to reopen when combined with Democratic support — a House rule passed just before the shutdown essentially prevents that vote from taking place,” the Huffington Post reports....
You have to wonder if the Republicans thought that no one would notice this super secret attempt to control what legislation makes it to the floor of the House. The fact that people outside of the government are attempting to take control of everything is very disturbing.