Look for the common denominator … which happens to be one of my favorite pieces of advice I hand out.

If, after looking at all the tempests and tumult and you find something in common that runs through them, then you have a culprit you can separate from the pack of demons.

What, then, is the common denominator in all the government shut downs we have endured over the past five decades or so? One jumps out at me. It’s the Republican congressional leadership. All these shutdowns seem instigated by GOP hotheads intent on making names for themselves. They place notoriety over notable legislative achievement.

The latest government shut down is the on the verge of setting a dubious record for longevity. The GOP blames Democrats because they keep rejecting Republican efforts to pass continuing resolutions that would re-open the government. Democrats counter that the GOP plan includes the notion of ending Affordable Care Act subsidies that uninsured Americans need to continue receiving health insurance.

The stalemate drags on. We have found the common denominator. It mirrors prior such schemes from the same political party that has given us too damn many of these misadventures.