Shut down of government is not the loser some argue

Erick Erickson:

There is a lot of talk these days about how the GOP cannot afford to shut down the government like they did in 1995. “Remember,” they the chattering class say, “the GOP got destroyed at the polls in 1996.”

That talk has everything to do with the Democrats winning the message battle in the media, but has nothing to do with anything else. Let’s roll the tape, shall we?

In 1995, Republicans in Washington shut down the government. They got creamed by the media and Democrats. The Democrats were interested in scoring points. The media was interested and remains interested in “good government,” never mind what that may or may not be.

But what actually happened?

The House Republicans lost only nine seats. Nine. In fact, nationally, the House GOP got 47.8% of the popular vote to the Democrats only getting 48.1%. In fact, the House GOP outperformed Bob Dole who only got 40% of the vote. The total loss wound up being a net of eight as the GOP picked up one Democrat seat. At the time, Gingrich credited the hard line the GOP took as helping the GOP hold their own.

The Senate Republicans actually gained seats. Two.
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If the Republicans do push Obama into a shutdown, they should be better prepared for the messaging side of the operation.  They need a message to points out the benefits of less government and provide a clear alternative to Obamacare which will be the major cause of the shutdown.