Shutdown Shines Light on GOP Divisions

“At this point, no one looks particularly good to the public, but congressional Republicans are faring worse than Democrats and much worse than President Obama,” Dan Balz reports.

“The struggle has exposed a rift between the party’s confrontational, populist, tea party wing and its traditional business and establishment wing. These tensions reflect fundamental questions about the direction of a party whose rightward shift over the past decade has helped intensify the political conflict and changed the calculus of governance generally.”

“The conservative movement is not deeply divided over philosophy and policy… But Republicans are divided about whether to be a party of “no” or a party that can fashion a more positive vision for conservative governance. The shutdown has brought these differences into even sharper focus. But if there is an obvious resolution, party leaders haven’t found it.”