16 days. $1.5 billion a day. $24 billion total.

That is what the Tea Party temper tantrum cost America this month, according to an estimate from Standard & Poor's. Children went without medicine, veterans went without benefits, families went without paychecks -- all so Republicans could show America just how much they hate Obamacare.

We may have narrowly avoided the apocalypse of a breached debt ceiling this time, but after all the recklessness and contempt for the rules we've seen, there can be no doubt: Republicans can't and won't govern responsibly. We need to hold them accountable now, before they do more damage.

We know 2014 can be a big year for us. But DFA isn't waiting until 2014 to hold Republicans accountable for the mess they made in Washington. We are ramping up our Get Out The Vote campaign in Virginia, where we've been working for several months on a number of critical races for progressives THIS November.

Do you want to send a message to the Tea Party where it matters the most -- at the ballot box?

Then RSVP now for an important DFA Live conference call on Monday with Governor Howard Dean and Purple to Blue candidate Jennifer Boysko to talk about the shutdown crisis and how we can make it a game changer up and down the ballot, starting in Virginia.

Republicans in Virginia are cut from the same cloth as the folks who just held our country hostage, and they're governing the same way, too. They've slashed education funding, essentially outlawed abortion, passed strict voter ID legislation and blocked efforts to control deadly weapons.

The Tea Party thinks it can wait this out -- that by the time they have to face voters next year, we will have forgotten all about the damage they've done to our country. Let's show them they're wrong. Let's show them that playing games with our country's future comes at a steep cost -- not just next year, but right now.

Show the Tea Party you've had enough. Sign up now for Monday's critically important DFA Live call with Gov. Howard Dean and Jennifer Boysko to discuss DFA's strategy to make Republicans pay at the polls on November 5.

Thanks for standing with us,

Karli

Karli Wallace
Campaign Organizer, Democracy for America