If there is a shut down is a title for a drama that we've been through before. It's just a silly game that isn't being taken seriously by we who have seen this skit before, or those who are putting it on. The script is meant to make it look like the fools who run things could possibly care less. They're already rich, and they will remain rich. They'll go through the motions of putting on the show for the masses, but we who have grown tired of this charade already know that they have already decided to raise the debt ceiling. This isn't even interesting.
Who benefits more? or who is hurt less? If there is a shutdown, the public sees the GOP cause people grief for no good reason, there is no way that the Senate is going to pass the defunding of ObamaCare. They will just add the funding back and send it back to the House. And that is the bill they will pass, it's the bill most Americans want passed. And the longer the GOP takes to pass it, the more ill feelings they will generate.
Trick question. The real benefactors are the American citizens. ;] We should have a defacto government shutdown, sans for military defense. Who will be to blame? Republicans. Who should be blamed? Democrats. Why? Because Republicans have written a bill that would defund Obamacare (which is widely unsupported by the American citizenry), while funding the rest of government. Democrats are threatening to shut down government, because Republicans won't fund Obamacare. They're little whiny brats who are mad that they won't get their own way. That's it.
Short-term, it's the Republicans. They'll achieve their goals and uphold their own election "mandate" by reducing frivolous government spending, which created the shutdown crisis. Long-term depends on nothing more than politics. The polls don't show that the Republicans are considered significantly more to blame. The latest poll I've seen found that 39% would blame Republicans, 36% the Obama administration. The difference is within the margin of error. Unfortunately for the Republicans, though, they've been very poor at pr in recent years and the Democrats are likely to make a better campaign of shifting blame for this, even though the Republicans would seem to have the most ammunition.
