I keep hearing the Democrats and the media talking about how the Republican attempt at funding a continuing resolution is “extortion”. Give what we’ve been seeing in DC, that’s an interesting choice of words. Extortion isn’t the House following its constitutional requirements to originate funding—especially when everyone knows that if the White House or Senate Democrats were to merely open up negotiations the House would compromise, as it always does.

Hell, does anyone really believe that if the White House gave them the opportunity to just pretend that they’d compromise, that the House Republicans wouldn’t fold like a three dollar chair?

Of course they would. If Democrats were to make even a token effort toward compromise, they’d get everything they want. The first round in what should have been the start of negotiations is not extortion.

Even after the Democrats refused to negotiate at all, Republicans began to look for areas of common ground where both sides could agree that funding was essential—veterans care, cancer research, Head Start, the WIC Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the FDA, and FEMA, even the District of Columbia. Senator Reid hasn’t even scheduled a vote on them. Yet, this is what every family in the US does when funds get tight or there’s disagreement on how to spend income—identify the most important expenditures and try for a consensus on spending within them. That’s not extortion, it’s common sense.

Extortion is spending extra money and extra manpower during a shutdown to block off an open-air stone memorial at the National Mall—when it normally is fully open and often unstaffed during the regular course of the day. Extortion is shutting down a football game that operates without government funding.

Extortion is trapping seniors in a building and not letting them leave—and then forcing them into a bus, all so that they can’t see natural beauty that will be there regardless of the federal government. Extortion is forcing people at gunpoint to leave their homes and businesses—again, at extra expense, and while leaving businesses frequented by administration officials and donors open. It’s blocking off public parking spaces that might provide a view of national monuments.

Extortion is the President saying that even though the US has enough revenue to meet its obligations, its going to default anyway, and “Wall Street should be concerned”.

Extortion, pretty much by definition, is taking extra steps and spending extra money and using extra manpower “to make life as difficult for people as we can”.