US Government "Shutdown" begins as of 1201 Eastern

[Seamus Fermanagh]

The legacy of the last few shutdowns is clear. GOP always look worse than Dem. Deals always get made when they see who is losing public opinion support fastest.

All of my government's budget and funding and taxation efforts are errant nonsense. I honestly don't know why the rest of the world doesn't just laugh and call in our markers (okay, I sorta do, but sheesh).

Congress: America's only inherent "criminal class."

[a completely inoffensive name]

GOP took back the Senate after Cruz shutdown the government.

Shutdowns look bad for the party in control, not the ones causing it. Unless the Dems drop the ball on PR again.

[Montmorency]

I would suspect that the GOP, ideologically, stands more to gain in the long-term from government shutdowns than the Democrats.

Democrats are very skilled at flushing short-term victories and boosts down the toilet.


Most shockingly, the most lucid and introspective statement I've ever seen coming from the Trump twitter feed:

My sense is that people are far angrier at the President than they are at Congress re the shutdown—an interesting turn!

Spittakes, please. It's too compact to be staffer-authored I think.

EDIT: I WAS FOOLED

I WAS FOOLED

CHECK THE DATE

[spmetla]

I guess I shouldn't be surprised it came to a shut down. A natural result of of putting all legislative items into gigantic bills with intense negotiations over every fringe addition instead of over the core items that are then held hostage as a result. If they held debates on separate items such as immigration, DACA, border funding, and so on they might actually have real negotiations over policies instead of party line votes that try to impose their way on everything.
Having elections that are really just so that one party can try get the majority and then impose their will on the other leaves the rest of us in the country. It was a sign of things to come that ACA/Obamacare passed with essentially no Republican votes. Now the Republicans are trying to do the same but without the necessary super-majority.

I hope this is cleared up over the weekend and doesn't run on too long.

[Montmorency]

It was a sign of things to come that ACA/Obamacare passed with essentially no Republican votes.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/o...democracy.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...liberal-tenets

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/18/demo...ommentary.html

Isn't this a clarion call for Democrats to stop trying to pass Republican policies, and get a genuine new platform?

[Hooahguy]

Now that Im in DC, I get to witness the full effect of this shutdown. Going to try to see some of the Smithsonians before they close on Monday.

[drone]

Enjoy the reduced rush hour traffic!