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  • The Atlantic

    The Party of Boondoggles

    Republicans used to force shutdowns in the name of fiscal restraint. Now they’re digging in for the sake of the profligate wall.
    by Charles J. Sykes Dec 31, 2018 3 minutes
    Source: Joshua Roberts / Reuters

    Republicans used to shut down the government in the name of fiscal restraint. Now they’re digging in for the sake of a boondoggle. This Trump-era shutdown could well become the longest ever, eclipsing the Clinton-era 26-day standoff over Medicare spending, and the Obama-era 16-day standoff over Obamacare. GOP tactics in the past may have been misguided, but at least the party was in theory fighting on behalf of its signature goal: reducing the size of the federal government.

    This time, there is no talk of budget cuts, recisions,spending for, of all things, the Wall, a Stone Age technology to deal with an Internet Age noncrisis.

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