I believe that this person has it right....
http://www.policymic.com/articles/66167/whose-fault-is-the-government-shutdown-it-s-probably-yours
"When the United States government shut down on October 1, I immediately started writing a big rant on how it was both parties' fault that party politics are so broken today. To me, it was disgusting that something so childish could even happen, and how both parties and their supporters would simply try to play the blame game with one another. There are
articles and pieces about how it's the Republicans' fault because they were planning on taking the government hostage by refusing to pass a budget that didn't fund the Democrats' signature legislation, and then there are the ones about how the Democrats shut down government by refusing to negotiate over Obamacare or the debt limit. In all honesty, it was the actions of both parties that caused the shutdown, but there's another person to blame. That person is you.
Or at least, it's your fault if you elected the current Congress, and it's your fault if you support a party name over policy. The party system in America is indeed broken, but American voters are at the heart of the issue, because they are the ones that enable it. "
"Think about it, Democrats: How would you react if I told you that when George W. Bush was president,
people were detained indefinitely without trial and tortured? I know for certain that the majority of you were livid, but how do you feel about how Obama signed the 2012 NDAA? It's a law that claims that the
president has the authority to detain anyone indefinitely, just as Bush once did. Obama might have signed an order against torture by the United States, but he also has
utilized rendition of prisoners to nations where they are tortured for information, and has blocked most action against the perpetrators of torture in Guantánamo Bay. He's extended the PATRIOT Act along by ridding it of some of its civil-liberties protections
after calling it "
plain wrong." Really, the man has plenty of similarities to Bush, and yet you're silent about him. For you Republicans out there, what about the
individual mandate supported by leading figures back in 1993 and even before? Even Newt Gingrich was supportive of a mandate until 2008. You guys are making an issue out of what you were supporting 20 years ago.
IMHO