, Columnist
Republicans Need a Graceful Exit Strategy, Now
Republicans should stop the shutdown in return for something they can get, and settle for that.
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As the shutdown grinds into its second week, I thought it might be useful to lay out why I think Republicans should look for a graceful exit as quickly as possible, rather than trying to use the shutdown -- or God forbid, the debt ceiling -- to extract unlikely concessions.
I know that many of my conservative readers do not believe this, but I share many of your goals. I would like a smaller government that does less stuff. I oppose the Affordable Care Act.
Yet I am opposed to the shutdown because I think it does real institutional damage to the country, and because I don't think it will work. It is damaging the Republican Party's prospects, while not noticeably increasing the chances that government will shrink.