Tea party favorite Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Il) thinks that a government shutdown could be just what this country needs. "This is the most serious financial situation I think we've had," Walsh told CBS News' Nancy Cordes Tuesday. "And so if we need
March 30, 2011

Tea party favorite Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Il) thinks that a government shutdown could be just what this country needs.

"This is the most serious financial situation I think we've had," Walsh told CBS News' Nancy Cordes Tuesday. "And so if we need a jolt, if we need the government shutdown for a few days for us to really get serious, I think the American people are with that."

Walsh said he regularly holds town hall meetings where a majority of the people support a shut down.

"I typically, near the middle or the end of the town hall, will pose a question. If I face a vote in a week in a half where I can fund the government for the rest of the year and barely get some more spending cuts or shut down government, what do you want me to do?"

"And I got to tell you, in my district, 99 percent of the people raise their hands and say 'shut it down,'" he explained.

"Is that a function of who's coming to your town hall?" Cordes asked.

"I firmly believe when it comes to this issue people back home are miles ahead of politicians... I don't think this notion of a shutdown scares them," he said.

If recent polls are any indication, Walsh may be misreading his constituency.

Seventy-seven percent recently told Bloomberg that Republicans and Democrats should reach a compromise on a plan to curb federal spending and keep the government running.

Another recent CNN poll found that nearly half of Americans viewed the tea party unfavorably, up 21 points since January 2010.

Senate Democrats warned Tuesday that House Speaker John Boehner would have to bring tea party "extremists" in line or prepare for a government shutdown come April 8.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon