1805 Election Cost

Not long ago an interesting bi-partisan thing happened. Harry Reid and John Boehner got together and did something. (Let's hope they never get together and trade names, the political world's not ready for a Harry Boehner.) They agreed, in a low-key private non-ballyhooed non-ideological way to quietly extend the funding for our government for six months.
Beyond the election. Hmmm.
You mean the bickering congress can get things down without political posturing?
Why, you ask? Aren't all those histrionics important to the base? Aren't arch-liberals and Tea Party Republicans supposed to fire up their constituencies and prove once and for all the American public is either left or right?
Well, um, no. It's an election year and elections are decided by moderates. Now is not the time to beat the drum. Now's the time to play the flute. The gentle, reasonable, pied-piper flute that leads the independents to one camp or another.
Because poll after poll has shown that independents are sick of partisan bickering. And they really don't like the nonsense gridlock has brought about. Like last year's government shutdown over the budget. Remember that?
You'd think shutting down the government would save money, right? Not so, according to the Government Accountability Office. (Yes there is one. Yes, it's a government office. No, I don't know who is responsible for keeping it accountable.)
The GAO estimates the cost of the debt ceiling shutdown promulgated by the Tea Party freshmen forced the Treasury Department to pay extra borrowing costs, including hundreds of overtime hours for federal employees tasked with avoiding default.
Total loss? $1.3 billion.
Not the kind of story you want to get out in an election year. Especially if you don't want to lose independents who reward reasonable behavior with a vote.
That's a cost electeds on both sides don't want to pay.
Who says bi-partisanship is impossible?
America, ya gotta love it.