Selling the shutdown

Here we are, once again, on the precipice of yet another bureaucratic crisis.

The federal government’s ‘open for business’ sign is flickering and the pols in DC are feverishly assigning blame rather than, you know, actually working to keep the lights on.

So if crisis breeds opportunity, then where’s the opportunity this time around?

It’s clearly not on the public policy side of the equation, since it doesn’t appear that the policy ball is advancing anytime soon. The stock market doesn’t appear to be benefiting from the volatility, either. And lord knows that nearly a million government workers now on furlough aren’t coming out on top.

Recognizing that nobody will ‘win’ this political skirmish, both parties seem to be working overtime to ensure the folks on the aisle are assigned the role of loser.

And that’s where public relations comes into play.

Democratic and Republican leaders are in the midst of an all-out media blitz, taking to the cable talk shows, blasting out emails, and even placing paid advertisements with the simple goal of professing that they are ‘not it.’

So with both sides pointing their finger at the other, what will constitute a ‘win’ once the stand-off ends and our government is again hard at work?

It’s too early to say, but one thing is for certain: the party that suffers the most collateral damage by haphazardly trying to spin their way through this mess will likely be declared the loser.