“The only thing I fear more than the government shutting down is the government staying open” is a jocular saying that has been cited on Twitter since April 7, 2011. The saying originated from this ecard.
 
   
Twitter
Mito Grafia
‏@MitoGrafia2
RT @someecards: The only thing I fear more than the government shutting down is the government staying open. http://some.ly/dW3hAe
9:49 AM - 7 Apr 2011
 
Twitter
Steve Kallman
‏@linbergbaby
RT @someecards: The only thing I fear more than the government shutting down is the government staying open. http://some.ly/dW3hAe AMEN!
9:49 AM - 7 Apr 2011
 
Cubicle Land Chronicles
Friday, April 22, 2011
Albany is trying to declare stray dogs as NYS’s state dog…
The only thing that scares me more than the government shutting down, is the government staying open. Stray dogs…really, NewYorkState? Sara McLaughlin just creamed herself.
 
Twitter
Young Conservatives
‏@YoungCons
The only thing I fear more than the government shutting down, is the government staying open. #tcot
6:05 PM - 29 Sep 2013
 
Twitchy
‘Amen!’ What is scarier than the government shutting down? [pic]
Posted at 12:06 pm on September 30, 2013 by Twitchy Staff
   
Splice Today
OCT 02, 2013, 07:46AM
The Humor in a Government Shutdown
Mary McCarthy
(...)
And you can always send someone a government shutdown e-card. Some of the funniest:
 
(A postcard): Greetings from the U.S. Capitol building: Old, white and immovable, just like the people who occupy it.
 
I want to do to your body what Congress is doing to government employees.
 
The only thing I fear more than the government shutting down is the government staying open.