As our National Zoo closes while the Congressional zoo remains open and (infuriatingly!) pays itself, House Republicans are making a series of arguments about Why It’s Not Our Fault:

It’s the Democrats! If they want to end the government shutdown or avoid a debt-limit crisis, all they have to do is make a concession or two. How can President Obama be willing to negotiate with tyrants in Russia and Iran, but not with the House majority?

Think about it. Suppose Russia or Iran said, “we will use cyberattacks to shut down your government and wreck your economy, unless you make concessions.” Would we then blithely sit down and negotiate an amicable solution?

Yet that’s what the House Republicans are saying. They’re insisting that Obama make concessions on a 3-year-old law, or else they will dock wages of government employees and damage the national economy to the tune of $300 million a day. In effect they’re assuming that Obama is more responsible than they are, and that he will capitulate to this blackmail and protect the economy.

Let’s be clear. This is not government as usual. I’ve watched politicians for decades and have seen any number of backstabbings, scandals, vituperations, and Machiavellian machinations. But I can’t think of the last time a major political party undertook a serious campaign to damage the American economy, unless the other party gives in.