Watching the Republicans deflect blame to the Democrats for last week’s government shutdown is like listening to Leatherface claim to be a humanitarian.

Just to quickly recap, House Republicans (catering to the demand of Tea Party affiliated members) refused to pass a budget without including a defunding of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare).  The same Affordable Care Act that was passed through both Houses of Congress, signed into law by the President in 2010, and upheld by the Supreme Court.

All the House Republicans have to do to get the government back up and running is pass a clean budget resolution:  you know, their job.  In this case, a clean resolution simply means not including a provision to alter the existing healthcare law.

For such a resolution to pass in the House, you would only need 17 Republican votes.  As of last week, there are 22 publicly confirmed votes from supportive Republican Representatives.  So, why are we still in this mess?

House Speaker John Boehner, who has clearly been infected by a Tea Party Ceti eel, has refused to even bring a vote for a clean bill to the floor.

The only thing more insane than this fuckery has been the GOP response to their own pre-planned disaster.

“This isn’t some damn game,” Boehner angrily said during a recent news conference.  The House Speaker was responding to a quote from an anonymous White House official in the Wall Street Journal, who claimed: “We are winning.”

What wasn’t anonymous however, were recent comments caught on a hot mic by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul on day 2 of the shutdown:  “I think if we keep saying, ‘We wanted to defund it.  We fought for that and that we’re willing to compromise on this,’ I think they can’t, we’re gonna, I think… well, I know we don’t want to be here, but we’re gonna win this, I think.” Game on, playa!

While explaining the Party’s current strategy to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Paul could not sound more delusional.

Although Paul still has to learn the difference between a threat and a compromise, the Democrats have it down.  The Tea Party-infused GOP will not be able to defund a law that benefits millions of Americans, but they could get additional spending cuts.

The continuing appropriations resolution (temporary funding to operate the government) passed by the Senate cuts spending 10% lower than the original Paul Ryan plan.

During an October 2^nd appearance on The Tonight Show, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich validated the actions of the House Republicans, explaining the GOP won the House in the 2012 election; therefore they were acting in the interests in the American people.  However, that is simply bullshit.

Gingrich is ignoring nearly every poll that shows the American people are not in favor of a shutdown to defund the ACA.  He also fails to mention that the only reason the GOP maintained the House of Representatives in 2012 was due to gerrymandering.   Democrats actually won the popular vote for the House in 2012.  Think of it as the episode of Friday Night Lights when the Dillon team boosters re-districted the town, giving East Dillon all of the shitty players.

Shutdown poster boy Ted Cruz made it clear last week where the blame for the shutdown should fall: “Throughout the course of it, I have said we should not shut down the government.  But sadly this is Harry Reid’s and President Obama’s shutdown.”

Imagine if in the final reel of Die Hard, Hans Gruber blamed John McClane for the hostage taking of McClane’s wife Holly:  “Cowboy, this is all your fault.  You should have never let your wife come to California, become a successful businesswoman and attend her company Christmas party.”  No, Asshole.  It’s still your fault.

Cruz isn’t alone in smearing the walls with his own feces.  Former GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin tweeted: “Obama’s petulant obstruction = shutdown.”  Is anybody else shocked that Palin was able to use the word “petulant?”

Tea Party Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer may have taken the cake this week when he blamed a Park Ranger for the shutdown.

Just 24 hours before the Park Ranger confrontation, Rep. Neugebauer participated in an interview with The Chad Hasty Show.  When asked how long he was prepared to support the current shutdown, Neugebauer responded, “As long as it takes.”

Like Cruz, Neugebauer also claims to be acting in the interest of the people when he is in fact actually ignoring it.  This seems to be a theme within the Republican Party.

Indiana Republican Rep. Marlin Stutzman also jumped in on the shutdown discussion with his highly informed opinion: “We’re not going to be disrespected.  We have to get something out of this.  And I don’t know what that even is.”

The extreme right has essentially blamed Obamacare for the destruction of America, even going as far to compare the fight against the law to the struggle against Nazi Germany.

However, I haven’t seen Obamacare remove the Amber Alert website, furlough 800,000 workers, prevent the CDC from monitoring disease outbreaks, prevent the EPA from inspecting our nation’s water supplies, close the Head Start preschool programs or potentially halt disability claim payments for our veterans.

The Tea Party Republicans did that… with their government shutdown.