In 3 minutes with Neil Cavuto, on Fox, Sarah Palin absolutely nails the context for the continuing battle within the GOP and the myths relating to penalties paid by the GOP back in the '96 shutdown. Hint: the GOP was rewarded for the shutdown, not penalized !!!

News flash:  Gov Palin is correct;  10 months after the shutdown in early ’96,  the GOP lost only three seats in the House (down from 230 to 227), in the national elections of November '96,  but gained 3 seats in the Senate,  increasing its majority,  there,  from 52 to 55 seats.  In addition,  because the election was not a penalty for the GOP,  they were able to negotiate welfare reform and work to balance the budget for the next four years.