Hoyer Pins Potential Shutdown On "Perfectionist Caucus"

By Rachel Christiansen

One of the top Democrats in the House predicted on Tuesday that the chances of a government shutdown occuring in two weeks are fairly decent.

During a forum held this morning by the National Journal, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that on a scale of 1-to-10, with 10 being the highest, the possibility of a shutdown happening is a “5 or 6.”

Should Congress fail to reach an agreement on spending by April 8, the current budget resolution that is funding the federal government will expire, thereby creating a lockout.

During a briefing this afternoon with reporters, Hoyer argued that Democrats would bear no responsibility for a shutdown. Rather, Hoyer said, Republicans would only have themselves to blame.

He echoed sentiments being expressed this week by Senate Democrats, who have accused the conservative Tea Party wing of the GOP of blocking a deal between House and Senate leaders to pass a 2011 budget that includes $20 billion worth of spending cuts.

In Hoyer’s opinion, the Tea Party has demonstrated a “willingness and desire to shut down the government if they don’t get their way 100 percent.”

Hoyer invoked a line uttered by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in 1998, who used a sarcastic label to refer to the conservative wing of his party.

“The ‘perfectionist caucus’ tail is wagging the Republican dog,” Hoyer said.

Are Democrats “quietly rooting” for a government shutdown?

During that same National Journal forum, Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said that Democrats should be. Dean said that history shows that from 1995 and 1996, a shutdown resulting from a Republican majority in Congress might boost the image of the Democratic party.