When Government Shutdowns Were Common

Shutdowns have been frequent tools of police. Just ask Reagan. - The Washington Post:

Ah yes, the roaring '80s, a time when government shutdowns happened very regularly due to the intransigence of the the evil Ronald Reagan.

Amazingly, the media somehow realized that the power of the purse was a very legitimate power of congress and never suggested that it was somehow petulant to use it to shape government policy. Imagine that!

Not covered in this article is "The Boland Amendment" a direct challenge to Reagan's right to conduct foreign policy! Wow, wouldn't doing something like that with BO in office be considered AWFUL ... I mean, he "won re-election".

Strangely, Reagan winning every state save losing MN by a small margin was never considered as a "mandate". The House had been in Democratic hands since the 50's and it was assumed would always be ... since "all politics were local" and people voted for Democrats to bring home the bacon and for Republicans to keep the pig alive. "The loyal opposition" was completely honorable in those days, and even manufacturing likely unconstitutional tactics like the Boland Amendment (they repealed it before it made it to the SCOTUS).

How far we have fallen.

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