The Republican 2008 plan is revealed. In this case it plays out with the FEC, but next year the same strategy will play out over the whole government. The Republicans are demanding that the Democrats approve an unacceptable candidate for the FEC or they will shut it down and blame the Democrats for the shutdown. They don't want FEC oversight of this election, and if they must have it they want it run by Republican election-fixers.
The larger plan is the same: force unacceptable choices on the Democrats, giving them only options of approving the unacceptable choice or shutting down the government. They don't want the government functioning, and if they must have it they want it doing their bidding -- funneling cash to their cronies and protecting the corporations from the citizenry. The Republicans will not offer acceptable options. The options they offer will be worse and worse until Democrats have no choice but to refuse to go along. Yes, worse than voting this week to fund the war.
From (Drudge lite) Politico: FEC heads toward shutdown,
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) just announced that the Senate will not clear four new appointees for the Federal Election Commission, meaning the panel that acts as a watchdog on political campaigns cannot function during the critical election-year period.
[. . .] Reid said he will not relent on von Spakovsky, who has come under heavy criticism from civil-rights groups, and he blamed the White House and Republicans for the stalemate.
. . . Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters today that Democrats are unfairly trying to block a GOP nominee to the FEC, which is overseen by a panel of three Democrats and three Republicans.
Shutting down the government has been the 2008 plan of the Republicans for some time. They plan to blame the Democrats. They are currently preparing the ground by obstructing everything in the Senate and then going out with a narrative that the Democrats can't get anything done. They are telling the public that the Democrats are piling pork into the bills and massively increasing spending, etc.
This is coming, you'd better believe it.