In a stalemated Capitol, lawmakers embrace political theater

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Though Washington, D.C., has refused to cut services to the degree seen in previous shutdowns, Mayor Vincent Gray issued a letter Tuesday warning that “time is running out -- and, soon, I will have exhausted every resource available to me to protect our residents, our workers, and our visitors.” (Patrick McDermott / Getty Images)

2/12

It took a salmonella outbreak to prompt the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to bring back nearly all of its furloughed food monitors Tuesday, after 278 cases were reported across 18 states, including California. The Food and Drug Administration’s food-safety programs have also been curtailed, with the agency furloughing about half of its employees. (Jordan Kartholl / Associated Press)

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which receives its funding through the U.S. Department of Transportation, has significantly cut its safety programs, including issuing recalls, testing safety ratings and reviewing complaints. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

4/12

Though food stamps continue to be distributed during the shutdown, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children has been defunded. The program, which aids in providing food and healthcare to low-income mothers and their children, is estimated by the USDA to have sufficient funding for about a week before running out entirely. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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The early education program Head Start has stated that up to 19,000 children are left without its services during the shutdown, since the grant money required to maintain 23 programs in 11 states has been cut off. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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About 200 patients will be turned away from clinical trials each week the government is shut down, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins confirmed. Thirty of those patients are children, many of whom are suffering from cancer. Above, Lakers Forward Matt Barnes chatting with Allie Newman, 16 during visits with young patients at the Mattel’s Children Hospital. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

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The Miramar Marine Corps Air Show, planned for this weekend, is among the most heavily attended air shows in the country with about 500,000 attendees taking part over the last several years. But not even a huge audience could save the show from the government shutdown, with Marine officials confirming Thursday that the event has been canceled. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)

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Members of Congress may continue to be paid during this shutdown of their own making, but at least some of the legislative body’s perks are at least cut off. The congressional private dining room has been shut down, as have its shoe shining service, gym and dry cleaner. (Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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The National Zoo’s much-watched Panda Cam, set up to monitor Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and the yet unnamed new cub, went dark Monday night. Now all that panda devotees can spot is an error message, though the pandas will still be cared for by essential Smithsonian staff. (Smithsonian National Zoo / Associated Press)

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NASA’s various social media outreach initiatives have gained a huge number of followers, and many of them are being shut down alongside the government. The popular Asteroid Watch Twitter account freaked out followers with a message that it would no longer be updated, though it later clarified that doesn’t mean the agency is turning a blind eye to the skies. And some, like the agency’s Voyager 2 space probe, were a bit more snarky in their closure announcement. NASA’s Instagram account and NASA.gov are also shut down. (NASA / Getty Images)

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Hopefully you aren’t working on a research paper depending on federal statistics during the shutdown, since many sites, including Census.gov, Data.gov, THOMAS (a database of legislative information) and the Federal Trade Commission, are either limited or shut down entirely until Congress agrees to a compromise. (Library of Congress / Los Angeles Times)

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Want to stop by the Capitol for a tour as Congress tries to hash out a deal? Pop by the National Zoo while on furlough? Camp out in Yosemite to celebrate its 123rd birthday? Try again later, since all but a few of the nation’s federal tourist attractions, including Smithsonian museums and the State of Liberty are shuttered. (Emmanuel Dundand / AFP/Getty Images)

By Michael A. Memoli, Lisa Mascaro and Christi Parsons

Oct. 4, 2013 6:26 PM PT

WASHINGTON — On the first day of the federal government shutdown, Republican leaders shucked their jackets, sat at a conference table and faced empty chairs — and cameras — to show that Democrats wouldn’t negotiate.

With the shutdown in its fourth day, President Obama, also sans jacket with his sleeves rolled up, strolled from the White House to a sub shop, where he praised its 10% discount for furloughed workers.

Political theater is at an all-time high as both parties seek to outdo each other with more elaborate and showy news events, even as there is little legislating or even backroom negotiating underway to end the stalemate.

The shutdown has emptied the usually bustling halls of the Capitol. Phones are going unanswered. The Capitol barber shop is closed, as are some eateries — even Taco Thursday was canceled. And worse still: Senators were forced to operate their own elevators.

But members of Congress are going about their business, perhaps with the awareness that, while they are deemed “essential” employees and not subject to furlough, much of the public thinks otherwise.

With the parties at a stalemate and much work at a halt, lawmakers have plenty of opportunities for theatrics. Republicans continue to publicly insist on changes to the Affordable Care Act as a condition for moving forward on a government funding plan, while Democrats hold firm to their view that the government should be reopened before they consider any deals.

House Republicans emerged from a closed-door strategy session saying they were sticking with their plan to move smaller spending bills that would resume some of the most visible and politically popular functions of government. “This isn’t some damn game,” said House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).

He opened a meeting with his colleagues by reading letters he had received from students who had sent encouraging advice for handling stress, which included taking a nap and listening to music, such as Lady Gaga, according to lawmakers in the room.

Democrats have complained that the GOP’s piecemeal approach is itself a stunt. The tactic has put the tea-party-infused Republican House majority in the odd position of arguing the virtues of government spending.

To promote one such bill, which would restore funding for the National Institutes of Health, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) was flanked by Republican lawmakers with medical backgrounds. They wore white lab coats, and one had a stethoscope dangling from his neck.

The Senate’s Democratic majority has dismissed repeated efforts to bring these House-passed bills to a vote, leaving senators plenty of time for a favorite activity: talking.

“No more gimmicks. No more games,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Budget Committee, said at a news conference, calling on House Republicans to allow a vote on a government spending bill without any amendments that would undermine the healthcare law.

To her side was a giant poster (the Senate’s printing office has been deemed essential, it appears) with a Twitter hashtag: “#justvote.”

House Democrats debuted a different one, “#demandavote,” during an event on the Capitol’s East Front. House Republicans opted for: “#letstalk.”

One essential function members have performed is that of tour guide. With none of the building staff available to handle visitors, the public’s only ticket into the Capitol is as the guest of an elected official.

Friday was a particularly busy day — at one point in the afternoon, no fewer than seven groups were walking through National Statuary Hall and the Rotunda, each led by an amateur guide.

“You get a chance to talk to them and see how much they appreciate this building and this country,” said Rep. Steve King after he broke off from a joint tour with a fellow Iowa Republican, Sen. Charles E. Grassley.

“I go through this building fast, with my BlackBerry in one hand and talking on the phone in the other,” King said. “This puts us in a slow-down mode, where we soak up a little bit more of this than we would have otherwise.”

Rep. Richard Hudson, a freshman Republican from North Carolina, acknowledged he had some unexpected free time this week. With much of his staff on furlough, he took a turn as his own receptionist.

One caller, Hudson recalled, said “he didn’t vote for me and wanted me to vote for the healthcare bill.” Another was so stunned that his congressman was actually on the line, his wife called back to verify it.

Callers to Sen. Barbara Boxer’s office hear a recorded message from the California Democrat saying the “outrageous” government shutdown is “hurting our country.”

Some stunts didn’t come off as planned. Protesters were audible at a Republican news conference on the West Front of the Capitol meant to highlight a bill to reopen parks and museums.

When House Republicans came to the aid of veterans unable to visit the barricaded World War II Memorial, Rep. Randy Neugebauer of Texas had a tense exchange with a park ranger who was blocking access.

“You ought to be ashamed!” he said to her.

A day later, Joe Biden’s office tweeted that the vice president had called the ranger to tell her: “I’m proud of you.”

Obama’s sandwich outing Friday came as he tried to contain the fallout from an unnamed senior administration official’s remark that the White House was “winning” the budget fight.

“There’s no winning,” Obama corrected, before ordering a turkey, prosciutto, pesto and mozzarella sub.

Obama’s public schedule was otherwise empty Friday, after he canceled the rest of his already-abbreviated trip to Asia to stay in Washington. With the president in town, both chambers of Congress scheduled rare weekend sessions.

Not all the week’s manufactured events were about one-upmanship. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) invited his colleagues to join him for coffee on the Senate steps. The idea was for lawmakers to chat in a more informal setting. Only half a dozen showed up — all Republicans until Democrat Thomas R. Carper of Delaware arrived.

“Let’s sing ‘Kumbaya’!” he joked.

michael.memoli@latimes.com

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

christi.parsons @latimes.com

Times staff writers Kathleen Hennessey and Richard Simon contributed to this report.