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From the October 2nd USA Today editorial clarifying that the government shutdown is not the result of both parties in Congress behaving badly; rather the shutdown is entirely attributable to the Tea Party "fringe". The editorial board notes:
This shutdown, the first in 17 years, isn't the result of two parties acting equally irresponsibly. It is the product of an increasingly radicalized Republican Party, controlled by a disaffected base that demands legislative hostage-taking in an effort to get what it has not been able to attain by the usual means: winning elections.
Call it the Tea Party shutdown. The group will wear the badge proudly.
Pressed by this uncompromising fringe, Republicans leaders in the House are making demands that are both preposterous and largely unrelated to budgetary matters in return for keeping government running. Most absurdly, they want President Obama to undermine the health care law that he ran on in 2008 and 2012, and now considers his signature domestic accomplishment.
No president of either party could accept that kind of badgering. No president should. (Emphasis mine).
More fanatical (as opposed to useful or practical) Tea Party opposition to the symbolic Obama devil - in this case "Obamacare". And USA Today also points out that this is coming from the "disaffected base" of the party - which is a primary component of a fanatical movement (the disaffected audience) according to Eric Hoffer.
A reporter for MSNBC (find name) similarly noted last week that those in opposition are "True Believers" who really do believe Obamacare is dangerous - it is not merely a political strategy to oppose the Democrats.
Which is even scarier - because as Hoffer so clearly outlines, fanatical movements cannot be persuaded by reason and logic because they are not concerned about the rational basis of a policy position. There can be no compromise for them because they are on a "holy quest" that is more important than any practical policy concern. True Believers will sacrifice anything for their Holy Cause and for the Tea Party this is opposing "the devil" Obama and all of his works (e.g. Obamacare).
So in this case, what gets sacrificed to the "holy cause" that Hoffer explains is the American budget and the entire functioning of the government. Nevermind how much this hurts workers and citizens who are furloughed or denied access to federal landmarks because of the shutdown. The Tea Party doesn't care: we are just collateral damage in their holy quest to oppose their devil (i.e. Obama).
My 2 cents:
If Speaker Boehner is waiting for this disaffected base to come around and support a straight vote on the budget, it will never happen. He'll have to take a stand and split the party into two distinguishable components: The GOP (who cares about America and Americans) and The Tea Party (who care about nothing but their fanatical quest to oppose President Obama). Perhaps faced with the choice of being part of the un-American Tea Party or part of an American GOP, there could be a shift for some into the "American" brotherhood.
Symbolically, rhetorically, that is the only solution to the fanatical Tea Party problem in the GOP and Congress.
Don't hold your breath. Everytime Boehner has had a chance to jettison the Tea Party and elevate the GOP he has balked. I can't help but wonder - what are they holding over his head that he is so paralyzed by their influence? Is remaining Speaker of the House so important that he will collude and empower the fringe in order to assure his position - thus refusing to become part of the solution (the American GOP) and joining the problem (the anti-American Tea party). Is he really that weak?
How does he not get that Americans love a hero more than they love House Speakers? Directing his party to do a straight up and down vote on the budget and the debt ceiling for the good of America makes him a hero. Not doing so just makes him a Tea Party tool.
