President Obama:  "I want to work with both parties to pass a more permanent legislative solution. And the day I sign that bill into law, the actions I take will no longer be necessary. Meanwhile, don't let a disagreement over a single issue be a dealbreaker on every issue. That's not how our democracy works, and Congress certainly shouldn't shut down our government again just because we disagree on this." [Address to the Nation on Immigration, 11/20/14]

THE 2013 REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WAS A "DISASTER"

In October of 2013, the United States government was shut down for 16 full days, the first shutdown to occur in more than 17 years.

This needless standoff took $24 billion out of our economy, and cost us 120,000 private sector jobs. [CNN, 10/17/14; CEA, 10/13]

Critical services to the American people declined, with federal employees kept off the job for a combined total of 6.6 million work days. This led to a delay in $4 billion in tax refunds, and 715,000 national park visitors per day being turned away. [White House, 11/7/13; OMB, 11/13]

Economic confidence to fall to its lowest level since December 2011, and 2 out of every 5 Americans reported they reduced their spending because of the shutdown. [OMB, 11/13]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): "It was a disaster," McCain said. "We were plummeting in our [approval] numbers and I believe that most of my colleagues appreciate that." [Roll Call, 11/19/14]

...SO WHY ARE REPUBLICANS THREATENING A 2014 SHUTDOWN OVER IMMIGRATION?

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH): Speaker John A. Boehner said Republicans will fight "tooth and nail" against President Barack Obama's plans to act on immigration by himself, and didn't rule out a government shutdown. "We're going to fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path," the Ohio Republican said at a press conference introducing the new GOP leadership team. "This is the wrong way to govern. This is exactly what the American people said on Election Day they didn't want. And so, all the options are on the table." [Roll Call, 11/14/14]

Rep. Steve King (R-IA): Asked if a government shutdown would be worth halting Obama's immigration action, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) replied: "When you take an oath to uphold the constitution, it is not appropriate to contemplate the political consequences. You should uphold the constitution come what may." [The Hill, 11/14/14]

Rep. John Fleming (R-LA): Republican Rep. John Fleming of Louisiana said he's tired of conservative pundits criticizing government shutdowns "rather than saying, 'Hey, this could be a good way of holding the president's feet to the fire.'" Fleming, in language echoed by numerous colleagues, said his constituents "want us to use every tool available to us to stop, or in some way limit, executive amnesty. They think it's unlawful, it's unconstitutional. To them it's shocking." [AP, 11/19/14]

Rep. John Fleming (R-LA): "I support anything we can do to block amnesty, executive amnesty," he said. "And if we have to have a fight over it, we're going to have to have a fight over it." [IB Times, 11/14/14]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY):  "I'm against any kind of Continuing Resolution or omnibus." ... "I think we should do everything we can to stop him from acting illegally," Paul said. [Breitbart, 11/12/14]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): "If the president illegally tries to grant amnesty to millions of more people, I believe Congress should use every available tool to stop that amnesty and to defend the rule of law." [Huffington Post, 11/13/14]

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): "Additionally, the new Congress should exercise the power of the purse by passing individual appropriations bills authorizing critical functions of government and attaching riders to strip the authority from the president to grant amnesty." [Politico, 11/19/14]

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA): "I don't think that is off the table at all." [AP, 11/19/14]

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL): In the Senate, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Mike Lee of Utah are among those arguing to use an upcoming must-pass spending bill - either in December or next year - to try to block Obama from taking unilateral action to protect millions of immigrants here illegally from deportation "Congress appropriates the money," Sessions told reporters Wednesday. "That's a clear constitutional power. If Congress disapproves of the president providing ID cards for people who've been in the country illegally, then it should not appropriate money to fund it." [AP, 11/12/14]

Rep. John Duncan (R-TN): "If he's not willing to work with us, then we don't have any other choice," Duncan said on Tuesday. "We can't just roll over and play dead." [Nashville Public Radio, 11/18/14]

 Incoming Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI):

LIU: "But, senator, what about the strategy here from the GOP leadership, which is to try to attach an immigration bill, or immigration onto a must-pass spending bill?"

JOHNSON: "Well we'll see what we can do. I'm not quite sure how you defund the lack of action, because I think that's what President Obama is going to do. He's just not going to act to continue any deportations. He's going to defer action. I'm not quite sure how you defund that, but actually I'd be supportive of that effort because, again, if he defers action just like he did on the children, look at what happened. He deferred action on childhood admissions." [Bloomberg, 11/13/14]

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA): "Otherwise, as the chairmen of the committees with oversight over border security and our nation's immigration laws, we will be forced to use the tools afforded to Congress by the Constitution to stop your administration from successfully carrying out your plan." [The Hill, 11/19/14]

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA): "Kowtowing to the president to let him work in a dictatorial manner is not in the best interest of America," Broun said, "and I think we need to do everything possible to prevent that." [AP, 11/19/14]

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ): "I am insisting on that [rider] because the president is violating his executive privilege," GOP Rep. Paul Gosar, who represents the border state of Arizona, said in an interview Friday. [The Hill, 11/14/14]

Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA): "We're looking at all kind of options. We haven't decided on any particular one yet. But -- but frankly, there are a lot of things that we're looking at. We've got a lot of creative ideas." [MSNBC, 11/19/14]