"[I]f the shutdown occurs, it can be blamed on the lunatics in John Boehner’s attic"

“The easiest targets in terms of blame are legislators who sympathize with the Tea Party,” said Darrell West, director of governance studies as the Brookings Institution. “Those are the individuals who are at risk for being blamed for torpedoing a deal.”

“The group that is the largest and most cohesive is the Tea Party,” West said. “It’s always easier to stereotype one side based on the extreme elements within that party. There are very liberal people in the Democratic Party who have fought this, but they don’t have the same media presence that make them as big a target as the Tea Party.”

Former Republican Sen. David Durenberger, who has watched the public relations battle unfold from his home in Minnesota, however, thinks both parties would receive equal blame.

“It’s a pox on both their houses. I don’t think anyone thinks going to blame one party or the other party,” said Durenberger.