The Real Cause of the Last Government Shutdown—and the Next One
For Chuck Schumer and his Senate Democrats, the reaction since the government shutdown ended has been nothing short of brutal. Schumer and his colleagues are being hit from all sides: Trump and his acolytes like Brit Hume who are contemptuous of the cave-in, pundits like David Brooks decrying their ineptitude, progressives and Dreamers screaming about betrayal. It all fits the penchant of journalists and pundits to focus on winners and losers. Before the shutdown, the focus was on the negotiations over DACA, the president’s outbursts and reversals, whether all this would lead to a shutdown, whether it would be a Schumer shutdown or a Trump shutdown, and who would pay a price or benefit politically. Of course, these issues and questions are not trivial—any more than an election horserace is trivial. But like the horserace obsession, they muddy up other critical issues. In this case, there is a whole series of important elements to recognize and consider.
Step back and look at the broader context: Why was there an endgame in January 2018 that led to the brief shutdown?
