The Longest Government Shutdown In History, No Longer — How 1995 Changed Everything
We've had government shutdowns since the '70s. Early on they were low on drama and usually quickly resolved. Then came 1995, when the GOP used budget negotiations to push a broad philosophical fight.
It took three full weeks — 21 days — for President Bill Clinton and the Republican Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich to settle an impasse that partially shut down the government in 1995-96.
That particular moment is a landmark in U.S. political history, birthing a new era of American gridlock that arguably led to the sharp partisanship that has gripped the nation — and delivered a new record for a partial government shutdown, marking day 22 on Saturday.
Shutdowns had been a rare thing in U.S. history. The first one came just over 40 years ago, 200 years after the country's founding. But since that time, the fisticuffs of divided government and spending
