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By  Chris Cillizza ,  Published: October 1 2013 Tuesday should have been a banner day for Congressional Republicans, the day in which sequestration cuts to the federal government were locked in for another few months — a move that would have proved just how committed the GOP was to cutting federal spending and shrinking the debt. Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks at a recent press conference at the U.S. Capitol.  (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Instead, the government is shuttered. Polling shows Republicans are in line to take the lion’s share of the blame. The party is fighting amongst itself about when and whether to make a deal. Party strategists are (semi) openly fretting about the political danger their side is courting with the shutdown. “When is a win not a win?,” asked former Virginia Rep. Tom Davis (R). “When it belongs to the GOP. These are constant self-inflicted wounds. We don’t need to learn how to be a good loser. We need to learn...