To listen to the White House and the media, you would get the impression that a government shutdown, brought on by the inability of Congress to agree on a spending measure, is unprecedented! And to listen to Obama, you’d think that for Congress to actually demand conditions for passing such a measure is akin to taking hostages and holding them at gunpoint.
You’d think that. But you’d be wrong.
Do you know how many times in this nation’s history the government has experienced at least a partial shutdown because Congress could not come to an agreement on a spending measure? Seventeen times. Yep. Seventeen.
Unprecedented! Right.
Government shutdowns occurred during the presidencies of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. They were of varying lengths and degrees of severity, but they all happened. And as this Fox News graphic illustrates, all five presidents negotiated with Congress to come to an agreement.
Only one – Barack Obama – considers himself above negotiating with Congress, and claims the right to describe the priorities of Congress as arson and anarchy.
