Great post from the NYT:
Not my words...
Here's something I remember well about 1995 that no one anticipated-- US Consulates around the world shut down. Suddenly business was deeply affected because employees of international companies couldn't get visas to the US to conduct business. I remember happily explaining this to my Gingrich-admiring colleague who was upset when a huge project came to a halt because our subject expert was stuck in Germany. The client, a huge utility company, threatened to drop AND sue us. I remember our lawyer, very active in the repub party himself, saying, I think this is a detail the republicans overlooked--they think shutting down the government is suspending welfare and social security checks and they don't even realize it also shuts down services that enable businesses to operate.
Yes, young, new republicans won't even think of something like this, just as their predecessors didn't in 1995. This is the same party that is so anti-immigrant. Well, who do they think controls the borders? Surprise, it's not Haliburton. It's the federal government and its thousands of immigration officers. That was an ironic lesson back in 95 too.
And we have a much more turbulent world now than ever. These people need to grow up asap on the job and learn the full purpose and responsibilities of the government they represent. It was a global embarassment to our country back in 95. It could be much more dangerous .
