Even Keanu Can't Make This One Enjoyable

Since when have shutdowns become a good idea?  The NHL nearly folded after its stoppage and has only begun to recover thanks to Crosby and Ovechkin.  Unless Keanu Reeves leads the way, no one wants to see replacement players take the field again in place of the NFL stars.  MLB relegated itself to a decade of irrelevance after their last strike.  So why does the government think it will work for them?

I understand the difference here.  Stoppages and lockouts due to strikes are different than shutdowns due to budget impasses.  But they do share some important characteristics, one of the main ones being that its a really good way to piss people off. 

To be fair, only one group of people has really clamored for the shutdown.  Democrats and Republicans both know that cutting off your nose to spite your face will cost both sides in 2012.  However, the Tea Partiers haven't learned that lesson yet and appear more than happy to shut everything down.  What happens then?  Well, here's a partial reckoning.

As I write this, it ain't over yet.  The Congress has until midnight to either pass the spending bill or try to ram through another continuing resolution.  They better hope they do.  Baseball learned the hard way that the best way to turn off an entire generation of fans was to shut down the game for the season.  People already hate Congress.  Do they really want to give us more reasons?

-A