that last point specifically because i have been hung up on this idea that every time i start researching in the conservative media and i look at transcripts of conservative talk radio hosts or i go back and look at old conservative speeches on the subject of the lesson of the 1995/1996 shutdown, i feel like i m seeing a pretty consistent revisionist history of the shutdown, didn t hurt newt gingrich losing the speakership, bob dole was just a bad candidate and clinton was going to win anyway. i feel like there is a revisionist history. is that what they re telling each other? the republicans were really riding high and president clinton was pretty much flat on his back prior to that shutdown. i looked at our polling numbers and going into that shutdown in 1995, bob dole was only behind bill clinton in the washington post poll by 6 points. coming out of that shutdown, he was behind by 16 points. and while it is true that in the
and, rachel, some of the things you said i agree with but some i sharply disagree with. that won t surprise you. those 80 members committed to a shutdown, i disagree with that. i ve never heard that privately or publicly. since i ve been in office, the house has been dysfunctional, the senate has been dysfunctional. so what do we end up with? continuing resolutions. they harm our country and they re not right. we were trying to express our best ideas for policy via the continuing resolution. i was one who was saying, looking i don t think that we ought to advance the affordable care act.
if you were a conservative in the republican party right now and you did not agree that there should be a shutdown. inside your party right now, inside the house, what would you do if the agenda that was being followed was the agenda of those 80 members of congress who will never, ever, ever have to answer for shutting it down? what would you do if you didn t agree? joining us now is one of only ten republicans in the house of representatives who says that we should just pass a clean, stand-alone bill to fund the government and stop the shutdown. he s home to one of the highest numbers of military service personnel. thank you for being with us. nice to join you, rachel. maybe as a house republican you know and we don t. how long do you expect the shut down to go on? it will probably go on a few
us tonight. don t we live in interesting times, rachel. that is an ancient curse for a reason. what has it been like for you watching republicans maneuver themselves into the shutdown and not watching themselves try to get out. if i tell you every now and then you have to be really harsh with your brain and say please don t try to process that, it doesn t make any sense and it s giving me a headache. it s been absolutely awful. all of this, all of this is about stopping giving 30 million americans health care. i just asked republican congressman scott rigell if he sees light at the end of the tunnel there. he says he thinks there s hope, that people will come away to his way of thinking i learned just before i left the capital that we re going into committee to give those bills a rule so they can pass
veterans of course earned the right to visit the world war ii memorial whenever they want. only right that they ignored the government shutdown to come let their journey to washington. members of congress who made it their own story today, their own hypocritical story in particular, should be embarrassed if they re capable of it. with that, the same members paid similar tribute to all people serving in military right now. while the men and women in uniform will continue to get paid despite the shutdown, bases across the country are issuing furlough notices to civilian workers who provide a range of services. marine corps installations, in northern california and arizona, 3,500 employees. fort bragg, furloughing half of their almost 15,000 strong civilian work force. fort bragg cutting back on family counseling and survivor outreach. if we as a country feel there is political capital and moral investment in making sure that veterans in this country get treated right, and honored, even w