Tom Harkin: “Well, here we are Mr. President. I guess this is like the movie ``High Noon.'' The two sides are walking down the…”

“Well, here we are Mr. President. I guess this is like the movie ``High Noon.'' The two sides are walking down the street. I just hope, like in the movie ``High Noon,'' the good guys win. In other words, I hope reason and judiciousness and a sense of responsibility to the people of this country prevails, and not some knee-jerk reaction to what a few people in the House of Representatives want to do to our government. There seems to be a sense among some Members across the aisle here, and certainly among a block of Republicans in the House, that shutting down the Federal Government is no big deal. Well, I suppose if you are of an anarchist mind--which I think some of them may be--then you do not want government, you want to create chaos, you want to create confusion. Someone might ask: Why would someone want to create chaos and confusion? I think if you read your history, you will find that most authoritarian governments and most authoritarian movements that are based upon a minority view or a minority support gain their power through confusion and chaos, by disrupting--disrupting--the public body. I do not care whether it is authoritarian movements of the left or the right, that is what they do. They know they cannot gain power through the normal channels, especially in a democratic government, so, therefore, they do everything they can to skew the way government operates.…”