Government Shutdown and PR

I've already examined a few issues relating politics and PR, and with the first government shutdown in seventeen years, it seems appropriate to look at how PR plays into this. The source of the conflict is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," which Republicans attempted to defund. Congressional Democrats refused to pass Republican budget bills that defunded the law, and Republicans refused to pass a bill that did not defund the law, so, with no budget bill passed, the government shut down from lack of funding.

In terms of the conflict itself, there is a great deal of reality to it, and neither side is doing what it is doing entirely for show. The Republicans certainly hope to extract some concession through the shutdown, and the Democrats certainly don't want to defund the healthcare law. However, it is likely that part of the Republican motivation is to emphasize its opposition to the law by refusing to a pass a budget bill that doesn't defund it, and the Democrats (President Obama in particular) are likely trying to avoid being seen as too eager to compromise, as many liberals have criticized Obama for being throughout his presidency. Hence, both parties likely hope to use this to appeal to their more ideologically extreme bases--their target audiences--by emphasizing how they "stand by their principles."

Both parties also have to try to convince the public at large that they are right in this conflict. The Democrats' strategy has been straightforward, arguing that Republicans forced the shutdown by insisting on defunding a law that had already been passed years ago. This appeals to the average American's idea of democracy--that once a bill is passed, it should be allowed to become law rather than being defunded through some partisan battle--and appealing to the widespread desire for bipartisanship by portraying the Republicans as being excessively stubborn and refusing to compromise.

The Republicans' strategy has been more muddled. On the one hand, some have tried to argue that the shutdown is the Democrats' fault for refusing to even delay the healthcare law. This in and of itself would be a reasonable strategy--though perhaps not a successful one--but it's being undermined by other Republicans who are arguing the shutdown is actually positive, or at least not such a bad thing. These two strategies have a basic conflict, and this may perhaps contribute to the fact that so far the shutdown has not at all been helpful for the Republicans' image (though it hasn't necessarily helped the Democrats either).