"Republicans Hit All Time Low" screams the headline in the Christian Science Monitor. "Poll: GOP Gets Blame in Shutdown" , the AP asserts.
But before you panic, keep this in mind: The Democrats have lost their lead in the generic congressional ballot -- last month, they led 42% to 38%; this month, it's tied at 40% (HT: John Nolte). Yesterday, we learned that the President's approval rating has fallen to 37%.
That's not good news for Obama. Remember when Bush hit 37% in November of 2005? CNN trumpeted "Bush approval mark at an all time low." When Bush's approval was higher than Obama's is now (Feb of 2006), Elizabeth Vargas was intoning seriously how his approval ratings were at an "all time low."
This is no time for panic. This is no time for caving in -- which will demoralize those who support the GOP, reward the intransigence of Harry Reid, and give the President a much-needed win . . . just because Reid and Obama have refused to apply ObamaCare without subsidies to themselves and their staffs, and won't give regular Americans the one-year delay in the ObamaCare mandate that big business enjoys.
No doubt the 1995-96 shut down was a political disaster for the GOP. But keep in mind that (1) that was when Republicans were the intransigent party, refusing to negotiate and (2) before the internet had some balance to level the playing field when it comes to the MSM's Democrat-friendly spin.
We should be open to sensible negotiation, but ignore those who would counsel the GOP to create a political catastrophe for themselves when, at present, there isn't one.