Shutdown-ready Trump expects Democrats to blink
It seems like everyone expects this to happen, and I agree. @Bateshorn I’m curious what the vibe is on the ground
I hate this game. As a matter of principle I don’t think the Government should ever shut down. The debt ceiling should be eliminated, for the simply reason that it has totally failed in its ostensible purpose and incentivizes playing chicken with people’s lives.
a few points on the politics:
1) For the first time I can remember, there is *zero* reason for the minority party to help the majority with this.
2) For once, I think the President’s usually excellent political instincts have failed him on two points:
First, If a prolonged shutdown happens, the GOP will wear it, and he’ll wear more of it than the Senate and House leadership. He has successfully convinced the public that he’s fully in control. He’ll actually take the blame here on the Republican side, and it will surprise him.
Second, I don’t think the Democrats will cave this time. Of course it’s a lose-lose situation, but I *think* they have realized that the price of weakness is higher than the price of a shutdown, both long-term and short-term.
The GOP will have to fix this themselves.
3) Of course, there are any number of ways the Democrats could cock this up. This is the party of Elizabeth Warren, after all. But all they really need to do here is play possum because the public doesn’t seem to expect the Government to actually shut down, and if it does, and a couple weeks go by, there’s going to be considerable heat and GOP reps and senators are going to wind up with the hot potato when the president throws it in their direction if the Dems don’t fold.