Senior White House official: ‘It doesn’t matter to us’ how long shutdown lasts . . . ‘we’re winning’

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting quote from a senior administration official, who outlines his deep concern for those effected by the federal shutdown:

---

Said a senior administration official: “We are winning…It doesn’t really matter to us” how long the shutdown lasts “because what matters is the end result.”

That's fascinating because, as we all know; President Obama never misses an opportunity to moan about how devastating the shutdown has been. Maybe you remember this speech from September 30th, in which the commander in chief outlined the many horrors of shuttering the federal government.... If the Wall Street Journal is correct, the "very real" financial impact of Harry Reid's shutdown decision doesn't particularly matter - just so long as the Democrats are "winning." Politics is all they care about. So, hardship be damned. Sure, the Dems have rammed a massively unpopular law down your throats, but they're not about to negotiate, since the President thinks he's finally managed to get what the big-government ideologues have been chasing for a hundred years. As Harry Reid has admitted, the Obamacare train wreck is the first step on the path to the left-wing Holy Grail: a single payer system. They aren't going to give that up. Remember, every time Obama starts to babble about the "evil Republicans" and their "harmful shutdown," it’s all smoke and mirrors. Behind the scenes, his administration couldn't care less about pain and suffering - as long as they're convinced they're on the way to victory. John Boehner appeared at a press conference this morning, where he addressed the WSJ piece. While it's nice to hear Boehner get fired up a bit, he's still playing the Democrats' game. Instead of clamoring for negotiations, he should simply say "Fine. If the President refuses to negotiate, we'll head back to our states and take the fight directly to the voters." It's time for the GOP to call the Dems bluff. Reid has convinced himself that the American people are on his side. He's also sure that he can sell the lie that the Republicans chose this shutdown, despite the Senate Dems' many CR rejections. Republicans in the House and Senate should leave skeleton crews behind, while the vast majority head back to their districts to present their message to the people. Clearly, the Obama administration has no problem letting the shutdown drag on. Republicans who stand in opposition need to use that time for something better than beltway pressers.