Editor's note: The following column originally appeared in The Resurgent.

My daughter’s fifth grade class is headed to Washington in the next week to tour the city and see the sights. It would be a shame if the Smithsonian were closed. Nonetheless, I find myself cheering on a government shutdown, if only to give the GOP a chance to show how much of the government sustains itself.

We have reached a point where polling shows more Americans than ever want a giant, robust government doing all sorts of things. That is a terrible position to be in as we sail past $20 trillion in national debt. Americans need to be reminded that the world will not end if the government shuts down. They need to be reminded to take care of themselves instead of relying on Uncle Sam’s teet.

A government shutdown with the GOP in charge would be a far different thing from a government shutdown run by Democrats.

President Obama tried to inflict maximum pain on the American people to force the GOP to reopen government.

President Trump, instead, could take a different approach and use the experience to show Americans how out of control government has really gotten.

We are cruising past $20 trillion in debt. While I favor a 15 percent corporate tax rate because I think the economic growth and capital repatriation it would cause would offset debt concerns, I do think both parties must worry about the debt. And I think Washington not spending money would be a very good thing, even if my kid doesn’t get a chance to see inside the Smithsonian.