What Happens If The Partial Shutdown Goes Relatively Unnoticed?

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Netanyahu makes great speeches and does so in an accent most Americans understand.  The unanswered question remains will he act apart from Obama when and if the need arises?

My friend, Bret Stephens, is not assured, whereas, Jennifer Rubin seems to feel otherwise.(See 1 below.)
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Is it possible the partial government shut down will come and go and few will even notice it.  Boy that would be a disaster for those who believe big government is the solution to all mankind's ills!

The possibility of this could drive Obama to become nastier and  more shrill and  do whatever he can to make the consequences more onerous like canceling press conferences..

It also could result in the media and news elites not having much to scare the public with and that would truly be threatening. (See 2 below.)
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Dick
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1)What Netanyahu said, and didn't
By Jennifer Rubin 

While the frenzy over the shutdown is taking up much of the media’s time, drowning out the Republicans’ messaging on Obamacare, there is also the matter of foreign policy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations, which was both illuminating and bracing. He began by putting the current danger from Iran in historical perspective for the Jewish state: “Today our hope for the future is challenged by a nuclear-armed Iran that seeks our destruction. But I want you to know, that wasn’t always the case. Some 2,500 years ago the great Persian king Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. . . .That’s a Persian decree. And thus began an historic friendship between the Jews and the Persians that lasted until modern times.” And it is also a clever reminder of Jews’ attachment for thousands of years to the land of Israel.

Unlike President Obama, he refused to paint the new Iranian president as anything other than a lackey of the regime, reciting his tenure as security chief during numerous terror attacks and his role in “mastermind[ing] the — the strategy which enabled Iran to advance its nuclear weapons program behind a smoke screen of diplomatic engagement and very soothing rhetoric.”

He pointedly reminded the U.N. that others respect Israeli red lines, but Iran has figured a way to evade if not violate it. “Last year when I spoke here at the UN I drew a red line. Now, Iran has been very careful not to cross that line but Iran is positioning itself to race across that line in the future at a time of its choosing.”

But if there was a single message, it was that while Iran may be convinced of U.S. gullibility, Israel is holding the U.S. feet to the fire. Obama may be eager to throw out sanctions, but Netanyahu isn’t going to accept a phony agreement in exchange for sanctions relief. (“Rouhani thinks he can have his yellowcake and eat it too. And he has another reason to believe that he can get away with this. And that reason is called North Korea.”) He warned against falling for Rouhani’s predictable routine, no doubt with the U.S. Congress clearly in mind:

    So here is what the international community must do: First, keep up the sanctions. If Iran advances its nuclear weapons program during negotiations, strengthen the sanctions.

    Second, don’t agree to a partial deal. A partial deal would lift international sanctions that have taken years to put in place in exchange for cosmetic concessions that will take only weeks for Iran to reverse.

    Third, lift the sanctions only when Iran fully dismantles its nuclear weapons program.

But ultimately, as it always is with a rogue state, it is only the threat of force which causes capitulation. And in that regard Netanyahu will not bank on Obama’s shattered credibility: “ Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. Yet, in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others.”

He finished with a standard invitation for the Palestinians to negotiate for a Palestinian state in return for recognition of the Jewish state. But unlike Obama, Netanyahu did not dwell on the unattainable. (“I am prepared to make an historic compromise for genuine and enduring peace, but I will never compromise on the security of my people and of my country, the one and only Jewish state.”)

Netanyahu quite openly has given up banking on U.S. military action. He asks for only one thing: Keep the sanctions in place until a complete capitulation on the nuclear issue by Iran. That is a lesser “ask,” if you will, of the American president. He could do just that, couldn’t he? Well, he’ll need some spine-stiffening, precisely what Congress must provide. And if Obama does not achieve real success, Israel will act. Alone.

What is so refreshing about Netanyahu is that he leaves no wiggle room, no equivocation. He will not, he is saying, be the prime minister on whose watch the Jewish state let down her guard. As he said, “The last century has taught us that when a radical regime with global ambitions gets awesome power, sooner or later its appetite for aggression knows no bounds.That’s the central lesson of the 20th century. And we cannot forget it. The world may have forgotten this lesson. The Jewish people have not.”

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2)

What if We Had a Government Shutdown and Nobody Noticed or Cared?

By Daniel J. Mitchell

What’s the likely outcome of the government shutdown fight?

Well, in my libertarian fantasy world, we leave it closed. Or at least we never bother to reopen counterproductive bureaucracies such as the Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy,Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Commerce, Department of Transportation, etc, etc.

In my realistic/optimistic world, the federal Leviathan remains, but we get some sort of delay for parts of Obamacare.

In my realistic/pessimistic world, the media and the left work together to not only protect Obamacare, but they also get additional spending to circumvent the sequester.

For what it’s worth, I think the final outcome will be somewhere between optimism and pessimism. The government will be funded, including Obamacare, but at lest we protect the sequestration, which was the biggest victory for taxpayers this century.

I’d like to be more hopeful, but Republicans are probably too divided to prevail in this battle.

Which is a shame, because when they had more unity during the 1995 shutdown fight, they won a very important victory. Here’s what I wrote about that battle.

 …they succeeded in dramatically reducing the growth of federal spending. They did not get everything they wanted, to be sure, but government spending grew by just 2.9 percent during the first four years of GOP control, helping to turn a $164 billion deficit in 1995 into a $126 billion surplus in 1999. And they enacted a big tax cut in 1997.

So let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best. But we’re relying on politicians, so prepare for the worst.

Per tradition, let’s try to close with a laugh. I’ve already shared my collection of government shutdown humor (here, here, and here), but I did get this amusing image in my inbox yesterday, so there’s something new to laugh – or cry – about.

Now there’s an argument for a shutdown! Imagine, no IRS to make our lives miserable. Though let’s not jump to conclusions. Knowing Obama, he’s probably declared that all IRS bureaucrats are “essential personnel.”
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