5 reasons why there’s still no end to the shutdown
Three weeks into the government shutdown, I’m not sure how this standoff ends, but I do know there are multiple reasons for how we got here.
What’s the problem? Democrats and Republicans can’t find a solution because they’re trying to solve two different problems. If you listen carefully, Democrats are trying to end the government shutdown while Republicans are trying to find money to build a wall.
No deadline. It’s normal for the parties to disagree on how to compromise and what a compromise should look like. That’s been happening for generations. But now the parties can’t even agree on when to compromise. The potential for a government shutdown looked like a deadline, but we’ve blown past that and that’s clearly not enough of a concern to force either party’s hand.
Political gain. President Donald Trump and the Democrats both believe that the other side will be blamed for a prolonged government shutdown. With that mentality, there’s no incentive to compromise or give ground. And each party’s base is even encouraging their principals to stand firm without compromise. There are a handful of Republicans, facing difficult re-election races, siding with Democrats to reopen the government and then continue negotiating. But that’s not enough people to persuade the president.
Limited scope of a shutdown. In spite of the rhetoric and apocalyptic media coverage, we’re talking about a partial government shutdown that directly impacts approximately 800,000 people. Those are…
