FreedomWorks: From its unassuming office near Union Station, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey leads, well, an army of tea partying budget hawks. Lower Credit: By Wikimedia Commons

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The White House: Yes, the shutdown is mostly due to the demands of a band of hardcore conservatives that the federal budget be chopped down as quickly as possible, no matter what else gets chopped in the process. But President Obama deserves his share of Credit: By schindler_project via Flickr/Creative Commons