Confirmed: it seems the Obama administration is going to punish our brave troops for his and his party’s incompetence and stubbornness:

Troops are paid on the 15th and the final day of the month, and Mr. Gates [Defense Secretary] said that if a government shutdown began after Friday, troops would receive half a paycheck for the first two weeks of April. After that, troops wouldn’t be paid until a deal is reached in Washington to fund the government, although they would receive any back pay owed, he added.

“If it goes from the 15th to the 30th, you wouldn’t get a paycheck on the 30th,” he added. “But you would be back-paid for all of it. So that’s the deal.”

As I noted yesterday, the Obama administration could make the determination the administrative services of the DoD were under the “essential” list of activities. Hospitals are also essential services, and so would their administrative functions since you have to buy material and have basic services like trash collection, water, electricity, etc. VA hospitals will be fully operating, so why can’t the DoD payroll?

Because the Obama administration wants punish people so they will go scream at the GOP. Of course, the administration is so arrogant and out of touch in their little Empire-mode that it never occurred to them the American people will hold him and his party responsible. After all it was the Democrat led Congress and Obama’s White House that failed last spring to pass a budget for this time period. This is their mess the GOP is trying to clean up and do it in compliance with the voters’ wishes who gave them a historic win last fall.

Clearly, that failure to pass a budget last spring was a deliberate and crass ploy by the Dem so as to have a weapon to use against the electorate this year. The backlash against the dems in 2010 will look mild in comparison to the one coming in 2012 if the troops are used as hostages and punished until the country gives into Emperor Obama’s wishes.

It will be easy to see the administration’s game once we see what they determined was ‘essential’ (for their backers like unions and the EPA, etc). Watch for who did and did not make the cut if the shutdown happens

Update: A must read on this topic from my blogging colleague Bookworm. Bookworm links to this accurate observation:

Obviously, there are questions about why the Obama administration is emitting signals like this. They are politically stupid; no significant constituency thinks the US budget battle has to be fought across the monthly bills of our fighting men and women.

Read them both.

Update: If the DC morons continue down this path, it is a perfect time for businesses and utilities to come to the aid of our military. In response to this petulance, businesses could offer a line of credit (no interest) for our troops and their families until the shutdown is over and the paychecks HAVE BEEN RECEIVED.

If private business covers for our military, it will shatter the illusion of government being for the ‘little people’ and business being all about greed.

Somehow we need to begin to get pledges of support from banks, supermarkets, gas companies, utilities, etc to show DC how America works.