US politicians race to use shutdown for 2014 leverage

WASHINGTON – Republicans and Democrats have wasted little time trying to use the first United States government shutdown in a generation for political advantage ahead of next year’s Congressional elections, seizing on the plight of furloughed workers and shuttered government services to cast blame on each other.

A year out from Election Day and just days into the stoppage, the debate already is playing out in TV and radio ads in key congressional districts, newspaper editorials and fundraising pitches from campaign committees eager to pad their bank accounts early for next year. And both sides are aggressively testing the political arguments they likely will try to make over the next year.

Republicans are trying to focus the nation’s attention on President Barack Obama’s health care law, which more Americans dislike than like. Republicans trying to derail or delay the law say it is Democrats who shut down the government by refusing to negotiate over the law.

“Instead of admitting Obamacare was a mistake, Democrats are insisting that Americans be forced into a government-run health care programme they don’t want,” says a national television ad from the Senate Conservatives Fund, a Republican outside support group.

Following Mr Obama’s lead, Democrats are telling voters that Republicans have been hijacked by extremists and the tea party, and have jeopardised the economy by trying to extract unprecedented demands before re-opening the government. They say if House Speaker John Boehner cannot control his flock, Republicans cannot be allowed to control the House.

“Speaker Boehner doesn’t have the guts to put a clean bill on the floor to fund the government,” says an ad that a liberal group, MoveOn.org, is airing on cable television. “Why? Because he’s afraid of the tea party.”

At this point, polls show more Americans blame Republicans for the shutdown than Mr Obama and other Democrats. A CBS News poll conducted after the shutdown began Tuesday shows 44 per cent of Americans blame Republicans, compared to 35 per cent for Mr Obama and Democrats. Nearly 1 in 5 says both sides share the blame.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus brushes off the surveys, saying: “Governing by simply looking at daily tracking polls is probably not the right way to govern.”
Some Republicans contend that as the shutdown drags on, the public will turn on Mr Obama for refusing to negotiate on health care.

But Democrats are counting on this shutdown, like two that took place in the 1990s, to inflict damage on the Republican brand. They are hoping that could boost Democrats’ prospects for reclaiming the House of Representatives next year. Democrats need to gain 17 House seats for the majority next year, while Senate Republicans need to gain six seats to return to power.