Republicans More Insulated Against Backlash

Resolving the serial showdowns over the federal budget and debt ceiling may be more difficult now than during the last shutdown under Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich because so many more House Republicans today represent safely GOP districts, a National Journal analysis has found.

This suggests that even if a public backlash develops against a shutdown or potential government default, Republican members may be far more insulated against those gales than their counterparts were during the two shutdowns in the winter of 1995 and 1996. Today’s GOP legislators, for the same reason, also may be less sensitive to shifts in public attitudes that could threaten their party’s national image or standing in more closely contested parts of the country. [cont.]

Ron Brownstein, National Journal

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