It has been fascinating to watch the Republican House hurtling toward a government shutdown. Republican leaders remember well the 1995-1996 shutdown, and understand that it was a devastating setback. And yet they seem unable to avert a recurrence. From a sheer strategic standpoint, it's captivating. It's as if the American military was preparing in 1980 to send troops back to Vietnam.

Why are they doing this? The primary driving force is obviously the Republican base. Republicans rehabilitated themselves from the Bush administration disaster by crafting a narrative in which the party veered from its conservative roots, and now a new grass roots movement would purify it. This was useful in suturing the party off from Bush's legacy and re-invigorating the base, but one side effect was to stoke the already-strong suspicion that the party leadership was prepared to sell out conservative principles.

Conservatives expect major spending cuts and believe the public supports them, but Republicans can't actually enact their agenda because Democrats control the Senate and the White House. Republican leaders have to show that they're fighting for their agenda, which leaves them no room to come out with a compromise. Conservative Republican voters, unlike moderates or even liberal Democrats, oppose compromise even in the abstract.

Indeed, Republican leaders -- rather than trying to put on even a facade of reasonableness -- have openly signaled their hostility to compromise:

Boehner: We have to govern. That's what we were elected to do.



Stahl: But governing means compromising.



Boehner: It means working together.



Stahl: It also means compromising.



Boehner: It means finding common ground.



Stahl: Okay, is that compromising?



Boehner: I made it clear I am not gonna compromise on my principles, nor am I gonna compromise…



Stahl: What are you saying?



Boehner: …the will of the American people.



Stahl: You're saying, "I want common ground, but I'm not gonna compromise." I don't understand that. I really don't.



Boehner: When you say the word "compromise"…a lot of Americans look up and go, "Uh-oh, they're gonna sell me out." And so finding common ground, I think, makes more sense.