It’s confusing to be a Republican these days. Those affected by the Republicans’ actions in the House also have to feel whipsawed.

People in the GOP are supposed to stand for fiscal responsibility and accountability. But that fully aired Republican tire went flat when George W. Bush rolled into the White House.

Tax cuts heavily benefiting the rich and two unfunded wars took the country from a federal surplus to a blood red deficit, and when the economy fell into the Great Recession, things got a lot worse and haven’t recovered. Now the Republicans in the House, because they want to do away with the Affordable Care Act, are rolling the country on the rims into a second week with the federal government shutdown and 800,000 nonessential federal workers furloughed.

To further confuse people, the House unanimously agreed Saturday to provide back pay for those furloughed federal workers even though they will be getting paid for not having done any work. Now that’s a head-scratcher especially considering Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney saying while campaigning that 47 percent of Americans are “takers” relying on the government dole.

What’s probably worse are those furloughed federal workers now with the promise of back pay, but worried about how they’re going to pay their bills in the meantime. The utility companies won’t take an IOU, and banks and landlords aren’t liable to sit still for it either.