The government shutdown. Everyone knows it happened and everyone seems to have an opinion about it. But how many people actually know why the government shutdown, what sides were presented or how the issue was resolved? In this blog we analyze the different opinions framed by cartoonists concerning the government shutdown. To understand these opinions, it is crucial to know why the shutdown occurred and the events that led to it.
The United States Constitution requires that appropriations legislation governing government spending be approved by Congress by the end of the fiscal year. Failure to do so initiates the immediate shutdown of all non essential government agencies as outlined in the Antideficiency Act. On October 1, 2013 the United States entered into the 18th government shutdown in American history.
Key events foreshadowing the shutdown began September 20th when Congress passed a continuing resolution that would allow for government funding until the 15th of December 2013. However the bill had an attached amendment that would defund the Affordable Care Act, more commonly referred to as Obamacare. The Senate, that holds a majority of Democrats and in turn the support of the President, removed the amendment from the bill on the 27th of September. On the 29th the House again attempted to amend the bill in an effort to defund the ACA which resulted in the President’s threat to veto the bill. On September 30th, dangerously close to the Oct. 1st deadline, the Senate again removed the amendment, but Speaker of the House John Boehner refused to bring it to a vote. And on October 1st, the government was shut down. 700,000 government employees were placed on mandatory unpaid leave, all fifty-nine national parks were closed and forty-eight unhappy couples planning on getting married at the National Mall that month were sadly disappointed. (Cattle, 2013)
During this time fingers were pointed, directing blame at both the Democrats and the Republicans. It is during this period of time that the cartoons we have analyzed were published, most of them mocking the government and it’s handling of the situation. All of the cartoons we analyzed presented resentment towards both parties and a broad dissatisfaction with the government in general. Day three of the shutdown saw that 44% of Americans blamed Republicans as opposed to 35% blaming the Democrats. (Dutton, De Pinto, Backus & Salvanto, 2013) Republicans took the brunt of the blame, their approval ratings dropping to an all time low of 32% post shutdown. Overall, the government as a whole was accused of not willing to compromise, a frustration that was reflected in a late October poll that found eight in ten people dissatisfied with the government. (Balz & Clement, 2013)
The shutdown ended on October 17th when a bill was signed that allowed for government spending until January 15th, and raised the debt ceiling until February 7th. (Aljazeera, 2013) Boehner said “We fought the good fight. We just didn’t win.”
Did the Republicans indeed fight the good fight? Were the Democrats the real good guys? Was the government in entirety to blame? In the following analysis’ we take a look at how several political cartoonists feel about the answers to these questions.
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Sorry We are Closed! 