Government Shutdown, Week 2
Those old enough to remember the hostage crisis in Iran (or those who have seen Argo) remember the relentless coverage on the ABC television program, Nightline.
The program began four days after the hostages were taken and became a nightly update. By the time the crisis ended 444 days later, the broadcast and its anchor Ted Koppel were national fixtures.
Not incidentally, President Jimmy Carter’s chances of reelection were toast. The daily reminder focused the country on the inability of the President to solve the problem and get the Americans home. That powerlessness, probably unfairly, cost Carter the White House and ushered in Ronald Reagan in 1980’s elections.
So it is now Government Shutdown Week 2. Maybe a nightly ticker showing just how many days or hours the government has been closed would result in similar pressure to get things moving.
Or maybe not. Today’s politician is enabled by the Internet, social media especially Twitter, and the ability to bypass the news media to reach the public. All sides understand how to leverage these tools.
Early on, the President and Democrats had successfully positioned the shutdown as a Republican-created crisis. The day before the government closed, The Washington Times reported that the Republicans were faring worse than President Obama when it came to blame for the shutdown. It was “Republicans fighting Republicans” as one of them, Arizona Senator John McCain put it. Conservative republicans made little secret of their intent to close the government as a weapon against the new national health care law, according to The New York Times.
In the week since the government shutdown began, the Republicans have had some success shifting the blame back toward the Democrats and the President. Not surprisingly, the Republican National Committee has been a leader in the charge providing commentary and talk points.
As this week began, Speaker John Boehner was keeping up the Twitter castigation of the White House and Democrats. Over the weekend, Boehner was focusing on bills the House had passed funding parts of government.
The focused messaging seemed to be having an impact. Conservative news channel Fox produced a poll showing a divided American on the question of blame for the shutdown. The channel reported,
“A quarter of voters blame "Republican leaders such as John Boehner," while another 17 percent blame "Tea Party Republicans such as Ted Cruz." But 24 percent point the finger at Obama. Eight percent blame "Democratic leaders such as Harry Reid." And another 20 percent blame everybody in Washington.”
In an Internet-charged America, all sides have an unfettered chance to control the message. Those who are best organized and have the quickest Twitter finger have an advantage to rally supporters. Knowing that most Americans tend to read points of view that are much like the ones we already hold, experts work to leverage support.
More than ever, the public is on its own to sort out where the truth lies. There is no voice as loud as Nightline’s in 1980 to focus it all.
For now, America seems to have settled into an attitude that closing down much of the government is no big deal. In the past, we reason, politicians have always sorted themselves out before any serious damage has been done. That assumes business as usual in Washington. But in the digital age, business may not be as usual.
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