So, Who Was Shocked by the Republicans Caving at the 11th Hour?

Not I.  The only thing I found surprising was they waited that long.

Someone likened the Republican "government shutdown" gambit to attempting an amphibious invasion without air superiority (media support). [ETA:  It was Instapundit.]  Can't say I disagree with that assessment.  The major media outlets were in full uniform howl, predicting doom-'n-gloom, downplaying and avoiding the embarrassingly childish acts of the National Park Service, blaming the Tea Party for its intransigence, and hurling epithets like "hostage-taker," and "terrorist."  It's almost like there's a narrative or something.  (*cough*Journolist*cough*)

And, honestly, I think the Republicans would have been far better off to have made noises about their inability to affect the implementation of Obamacare, and pointing out its every single failure - and they are legion.  Where else have you seen this image?



Certainly not in the major media. That's the 7-foot, 11,500,000-word stack of regulations spawned by the 2000+ page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that we had to pass to find out what was in it.

As some wag put it, "Pass it to find out what's in it?  That's not a law, that's a stool sample."

Why isn't Rand Paul or Ted Cruz wheeling one of these stacks around everywhere he goes?  Apparently we're learning more every day, but we've got a long way to go.

Remember this?



Those are pocket editions of the Constitution, and include the Declaration of Independence.  As P.J. O'Rourke famously said of it:

The U.S. Constitution is less than a quarter the length of the owner's manual for a 1998 Toyota Camry, and yet it has managed to keep 300 million of the world's most unruly, passionate and energetic people safe, prosperous and free.

Today?  Not so much.  It's keepers have fallen down on the job.

Edited to add this: