september has had 13 major meteoric events and that is more than any other month since data collections began. arthel: as lawmakers continue to battle over the best way to keep the government running amid a fight over obamacare, there are new concerns this hour about the tone of these negotiations and whether anything will likely get done. just to give you an idea, listen to the kind of rhetoric that s been coming out of washington. we re not going to do this under the threat of blowing up the entire economy. i will not negotiate over congress responsibility to pay the bills that have already been racked up. a vote on budget and only on budget. you want to debate your social agenda? we can do that and we can vote that up or down at a later time. but don t hold hostage the american economy and the american people so you can get your social agenda. it all adds up to just one
guard that likes those favorable new york times and washington post editorials about getting along and going along and having a good spirit of camaraderie and having the white wine and brie cheese at parties and the people who actually want to get something done who are serious, who are sent to washington to actually change things for the better for more people. so i think that s what you see right now within the republican party. these are people with real convictions. i m not talking about the kinds that come in court. i m talking about principled convictions and i think that the ted cruzs and mike lees and some of the others know why they re here. it s not for a career in politics. it s to actually change the overspending, the stealth budgets that get passed arthel: but are they going about it the right way? is it really working? well, we ll see. look, this is not, to use a cliche, this is not a sprint. it s marathon.
and commissary where is many families shop would close. pentagon comptroller, the man responsible for the largest budget in the federal government, explained the impact of a potential shutdown. even if the lapse never occurs, the planning itself is disruptive. people are worrying now about whether their paychecks are going to be delayed rather than focusing fully on their mission. one the office the office of management and budget estimates the last time there was a shutdown in 1995, it cost the taxpayers about $1.4 billion. arthel? arthel: jennifer griffin reporting from washington, thank you. i want to remind you that you can hear much more on this spending shutdown and the battle over obamacare by tuning in to fox news sunday. that s tomorrow. chris wallace sitting down for an exclusive interview with republican whip congressman kevin mccarthy, and senators mike lee and tim kane. that s tomorrow only on the fox news channel.
look, does this tone last in the long haul? oh, arthel, you know the history of this country. we ve always had a spirited debate and name calling. i prefer to stick with the substance. that little clip you used of ted cruz, a small clip out of 21 hours, personally i d like to let the nazis rest in hell where they belong and stop dredging them up in every debate. this is very, very serious subject. i mean, we re talking about one sixth of the national economy. the post office is asking for a 3-cent pay raise because it can t run the place efficiently. why would we think that big government, having failed at so many things, from head start to food stamps and so much else, is going to be able to run this? so i think there is passion here and that s a good thing because passion helps get the people s attention. arthel: but passion is one thing and just being in a conundrum forever is another thing. so this tone continue in your opinion? well, it certainly can.
thing. a law in trouble. a law that needs to be repealed. that s the goal of every member of the republican conference here in the senate. we re united on the need to repeal obamacare. you go to the 19 40s, nazi germany, look, we saw in britain, neville chamberlain who told the british people, accept the nazis. yes, they ll dominate the continent of europe. but that s not our problem. let s appease them. arthel: cal thomas is a syndicated columnist and tita jackson is a radio talk show host. both are fox news contributors. so you know what? i am going to go with beauty before brains, so i start with you, cal. very good, arthel. [ laughter ] arthel: all right.