If you can't see that Republicans caused the shutdown but Democrats are now prolonging it...
Huh? The nation has been patiently and impatiently waiting for Boehner to bring up the clean CR for a vote for several days now.
What you've got is a series of proposals that the House GOP has passed to refund the government earlier today that Senate Democrats aren't just refusing to bring up for a vote (not a totally unreasonable position in and of itself if they think they can get something better), but they aren't merely refusing to negotiate, they're going on TV and loudly announcing that they won't be negotiating with the Republicans. I suppose it's a strategy to make Boehner crack (though it's telling in and of itself that the Republicans are the ones passing legislation while the Democrats are trying complex strategies to make the House leadership crack), but if it doesn't work it'll backfire on them heavily -- telling everyone you won't negotiate doesn't win you votes. Democrats could still come out the winners just because of the initial anti-Republican backlash at the start of the shutdown, I suppose, but they're busy reversing it right now.
It's very doubtful you're going to get a vote on a clean CR in the House, so by insisting on it (or waiting until the political situation has shifted (which it might not at all) until you do) you're unconstructively prolonging the shutdown. There's no other way to look at it.
The 'piecemeal CRs' are utter BS and you know it. The whole point is to get all of them passed except the one that funds Obamacare. The strategy is completely transparent to even the densest people paying the slightest attention.
Republicans keep crying foul because Democrats "refuse" to negotiate on Obamacare. Well, no sh[inks]. It's the f[inks]ing law. It already passed, survived the SCOTUS, and survived a presidential election. Negotiations ended a long time ago, and the GOP lost. Get over it.
