Genius idea:
Rep. Chris Stewart (R-Utah) is pushing a bill aimed at ensuring national parks remain open in the event that the government someday closes down again.
I absolutely love this idea. In fact, I'd suggest extending it to absolutely everything the government does. That way, the Republicans could shut down the government to their heart's content, but nobody would get hurt, because nothing would actually shut down.
Of course, there is simpler approach than the one Stewart is proposing: Instead of passing a law requiring the government to remain open when it gets shut down, next time around Republicans in Congress could simply avoid shutting down the government. Everybody would win—well, everybody except teapartiers.