Liberals have staged another one of their regular hissy fits over the government shutdown. What they don’t seem to realize is that this is exactly how divided government is supposed to work. The Founding Fathers were tremendously suspicious of investing too much power in any one person, which is exactly why they set up the executive legislative and Judicial branches in opposition to each other. This is why the executive and legislative have to work together to pass laws, and why the House and Senate must agree with each other. If everyone gets a veto on the process, then no one portion of the federal government can seize power over another. By refusing to go to conference, Harry Reid is shirking the legislative branches constitutional duty to pass a budget.
Forcing the White House and the Senate to come together and negotiate is part of the constitutional design. This is why Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill had to negotiate compromises during several shutdowns in the 1980s.
But Obama, as he’s proven time and time again, is no Reagan.
