# They're really gonna do it again. Shutdown 2015! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 9, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467 "2015-09-09T22:08:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/61 "2015-09-13T03:10:34Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Ah, conservative hand waving. It’s so predictable. “Democ-RATS can’t manage anything! Government should be run like a business! Obummer can’t lead anyone!” > > Then, when the other party is in charge, it’s, “Ah, it’s government. Whaddya gonna do?” Must be getting close to harvest time, what with all of that straw around. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/62 "2015-09-13T03:19:25Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > I’m pretty sure gerrymandering and the lowest voter turnout in 70 years was a bigger factor. Yep, the Dems were so happy winning POTUS they didnt pay much attention to the State legislatures, allowing the GOP to sneak in, grab them, and redistrict like mad. Bad mistakes on the part of the Dems. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/63 "2015-09-13T03:21:12Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Just out of curiosity, do you think that might a result of funding cuts? And that perhaps the lesson to be learned is that less we fund the government the less well it works? Yep, the GOP hates the IRS, since the IRS audits rich people. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/64 "2015-09-13T10:48:08Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Yes, and I was right. No, you were wrong. You read a claim into my words that was nowhere to be found there. And your ensuing argument was based on that claim. Thanks for playing, though. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/65 "2015-09-13T11:10:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yep, the Dems were so happy winning POTUS they didnt pay much attention to the State legislatures, allowing the GOP to sneak in, grab them, and redistrict like mad. Bad mistakes on the part of the Dems. Fucking Rahm Immanuel. Howard Dean was DNC chair from 2005 to 2008. And under his 50-state approach, the Dems did well in state legislatures as well as in Congressional races, retaking a majority of state legislatures in 2006, and expanding that majority in 2008. Rahm couldn’t stand Dean, and as Obama’s #1 political operative, he replaced Dean at the beginning of 2009 with Tim Kaine and then the worthless Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And it’s been downhill in the states ever since. Bring back Howard Dean, dammit. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/66 "2015-09-13T14:09:01Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > …A handful of lottery winners with prizes \> $25,000 aren’t getting paid. Big whoop… Hang on. Are you saying that the Illinois state government is _welshing on its bets?_ That’s…that’s _unAmerican!_ ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/67 "2015-09-13T14:43:05Z")
Call it a 100% tax on windfall profits, then. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/68 "2015-09-13T16:55:22Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > The only people who will care are government employees, and so what? National Parks might shut down too, the horror. Can’t get through to the IRS with a question about your return? You can’t get through now, sans shutdown, either. I got through 2 weeks ago. It required 45 minutes on hold, but I did it. I got great service. You need to re-think this. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/69 "2015-09-13T17:06:20Z")
Me, I’m just glad to see the Republicans so supportive of the troops. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/70 "2015-09-13T19:51:47Z")
> [@Mr.Duality](#): > > I got through 2 weeks ago. It required 45 minutes on hold, but I did it. I got great service. You need to re-think this. The IRS itself admits that 50% of all phone calls it receives won’t be answered at all. Even then, when a call is answered, actual assistance provided is minimal. [http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/Media/Default/Documents/2014-Annual-Report/TAXPAYER-SERVICE-Taxpayer-Service-Has-Reached-Unacceptably-Low-Levels.pdf](http://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/Media/Default/Documents/2014-Annual-Report/TAXPAYER-SERVICE-Taxpayer-Service-Has-Reached-Unacceptably-Low-Levels.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/71 "2015-09-13T20:05:26Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > No, you were wrong. You were wrong to claim that people “forgot about the shutdown” due to problems with the healthcare website. Do you even remember your own overwrought characterization about “real people, people that we knew”? The vast, vast majority (~96%) of people in the United States aren’t on Obamacare, and were thus unaffected by those glitches. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/72 "2015-09-13T20:54:56Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Fucking Rahm Immanuel. > > Howard Dean was DNC chair from 2005 to 2008. And under his 50-state approach, the Dems did well in state legislatures as well as in Congressional races, retaking a majority of state legislatures in 2006, and expanding that majority in 2008. > > Rahm couldn’t stand Dean, and as Obama’s #1 political operative, he replaced Dean at the beginning of 2009 with Tim Kaine and then the worthless Debbie Wasserman Schultz. And it’s been downhill in the states ever since. > > Bring back Howard Dean, dammit. :mad: Good points. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2015, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/73 "2015-09-13T23:23:21Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > You were wrong to claim that people “forgot about the shutdown” due to problems with the healthcare website. Do you even remember your own overwrought characterization about “real people, people that we knew”? > > The vast, vast majority (~96%) of people in the United States aren’t on Obamacare, and were thus unaffected by those glitches. You’re right - to those of us not on Obamacare, these were not “real people, people that we knew” - Those People only knew each other in their fetid ghettos, right? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/74 "2015-09-14T00:56:25Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Those People only knew each other in their fetid ghettos, right? :dubious: More straw. Is it on sale this week? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/75 "2015-09-14T12:50:06Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > More straw. Is it on sale this week? Hey, _you’re_ the one who’s saying the rest of us don’t know the people on Obamacare. Therefore by definition, they must be in _some_ sort of ghetto. Maybe ‘fetid’ was taking it too far, but that’s hardly enough to characterize an otherwise true statement as a strawman. Just calling something a strawman doesn’t make it so. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2015, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/76 "2015-09-14T22:36:22Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > You were wrong to claim that people “forgot about the shutdown” due to problems with the healthcare website. Do you even remember your own overwrought characterization about “real people, people that we knew”? > > The vast, vast majority (~96%) of people in the United States aren’t on Obamacare, and were thus unaffected by those glitches. What specifically do you mean by, “on Obamacare?” Insurance has to cover pre-existing conditions now. And no lifetime caps. Everyone with insurance is under the effect of Obamacare. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/77 "2015-09-15T04:41:08Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Hey, _you’re_ the one who’s saying the rest of us don’t know the people on Obamacare. Only a tiny fraction of the U.S. population is on Obamacare. The rest of us _don’t_ know people on Obamacare. Your position that “we” do is not based on reality. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/78 "2015-09-15T04:55:40Z")
Well, why wouldn’t they? The sequester was two years ago, IIRC. They won the elections the next year handily. May as well stick with what works. The GOP’s “Great Satan” is not the Democratic Party as such. It’s the labor unions, including public employee unions–most of whom vote Democratic, it’s true. If the GOP can induce enough public employees to quit, they can disrupt that power structure. It’s all positive utility from a GOP standpoint. It’s pure upside. Am I correct in thinking that this won’t affect all the non-unionized government contractors, like the guys recording metadata on your phone calls and emails, in the slightest? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/79 "2015-09-15T05:24:20Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > …The rest of us _don’t_ know people on Obamacare… In a way, you do, you tip them. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467/80 "2015-09-15T05:27:23Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > In a way, you do, you tip them. I doubt he tips anyone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theyre-really-gonna-do-it-again-shutdown-2015/730467.md?page=5)