Amid signs of a potential deal to avoid a government shutdown, a group of Tea Party activists gathered in DC today to urge Republicans to keep on slashing. "Cut it or shut it," and "We want less," went the chants outside the Capitol, reports the Hill. “If it does shut down, just remember: It’s the government’s fault. It’s Congress’s fault,” said Jenny Beth Martin of the Tea Party Patriots. Wire services put attendance in the "few hundred" range.
Notable quotes collected by Politico:
- Mike Pence: “If liberals in the Senate want to play games and shut down government rather than make a down payment on fiscal discipline, I say shut it down.”
- Michele Bachmann: “They want the government to shut down and to turn you into their scapegoats and say it’s the Tea Party’s fault for shutting the government down. Now the cat is out of the bag. Now we know who has no interest in negotiating—it’s Harry Reid, it’s the big libs over in the Senate.”
- Activist Kathy Dirr: “I say to the Republican leadership, take off your lace panties. Don’t be noodle backs. Take a strong, bold, unwavering stand for and with the American people."
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