As the clock ticks closer to Friday’s deadline for an extension of the continuing resolution currently funding government operations, the voices on the left and in the media grow ever louder and shrill at the prospect of a government “shutdown.”  Note the scare quotes in use there, because in reality what will happen if Congress cannot agree on spending levels for the current fiscal year will be anything but what the term “shutdown” implies.

Republicans are on the right side of the argument in principle and are in line with the political mood in the country.  As evidenced by their overwhelming victory in November, Americans want Congress to cut federal spending.  Republicans campaigned on it, and the voters expect them to keep their promises.

So why, then, do polls like this one from Gallup show that 6 in 10 Americans do not favor a government “shutdown” in lieu of an agreement to cut spending?  The answer is in the framing.  Republicans can’t win a debate with liberals by accepting their use of terms.  What is needed is a way to frame the debate on spending in a way that more accurately reflects what will really happen on Friday at midnight if the government “shuts down.”

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