Fox News offered the Republican Party advice on how they might recover from the GOP-led government shutdown that damaged the images of both Republicans and the tea party and caused at least $24 billion in economic harm.

Late in the evening of October 16, the federal government reopened after a 16-day shutdown, which began after Republicans in Congress refused to pass any bill to fund the government if it included funding for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Republican tea party members of Congress like Sen. Ted Cruz led the shutdown effort, which according to The New York Times was conceived by conservative activists months in advance. After two weeks, Standard and Poor's estimated the shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion, and the company reduced its forecast for economic growth as a result. And this cost is still climbing.

Following the shutdown, Republican party approval ratings plummeted to all-time lows, while the percentage of Americans with an unfavorable opinion of the tea party is at an all-time high. According to NBC News, 53 percent of Americans blame the GOP for the shutdown, versus 31 percent who blame the president -- a 22-point spread. Those numbers have led some political analysts to predict the GOP may lose its House majority in the upcoming mid-term elections.

Fox News responded by launching into damage-control mode. On the October 17 edition of The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson, Carlson and Fox contributor Rich Lowry attempted to advise the GOP on ways it could “get its mojo back” after the shutdown debacle.

Ironically, Fox is attempting to clean up a mess they helped create -- the network was instrumental in the creation of the tea party, and its own pundits cheered on the shutdown-strategy both before and after its implementation.

The network, which has often attempted to rehabilitate the images of its favorite politicians, has now focused its efforts toward the entire Republican Party.