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The problem is that it's existential for both Democrats and Republicans. Given the current makeup of the federal government, Republicans basically have all the

The problem is that it's existential for both Democrats and Republicans. Given the current makeup of the federal government, Republicans basically have all the power and have been able to leverage that into spending the last 10 months doing whatever they want. The exception to that power is the Democrats' ability to filibuster in the Senate and shut down the government by not agreeing to whatever the Republicans put forward. The actual demands I think are essentially irrelevant. If Republicans give up anything to the Democrats, the spell of the last 10 months is broken and Republicans can no longer unilaterally control the direction of government. If Democrats don't get any concessions, they're essentially irrelevant for the next 14 months and that only changes if they win either the House or Senate in 2026. Given that, it's not obvious how this ends.

consumer451 1y ago
> I’m glad there’s OxyContin and video games to keep those people quiet.
mcphage 1y ago
> The problem is that it's existential for both Democrats and Republicans. > If Republicans give up anything to the Democrats, the spell of the last 10 months is broken and Republicans can no longer unilaterally control the direction of government. How is that in any way shape or form “existential”? Existential means “if they fail they cease to exist or matter”, not “if they fail they don’t get to whatever the fuck they want”.
- rainsford 1y ago
  Yeah I did think about that after I made the post. I agree that you and jaybrendansmith are probably right in that it should be a bigger deal for the Democrats than the Republicans. I'm not sure Congressional Republicans see it that way though and I was thinking more about how they view the standoff, since that's important in seeing how or if there is a path towards ending the shutdown. They've made a pretty unprecedented bet on unilateral party-line action and the legislative branch significantly deferring to the executive. I'm sure they're concerned about what the party looks like trying to transition back to a more normal way of doing business, especially given what their voters are now primed to expect. I agree this should not be existential, but I also don't understand congressional Republicans putting themselves in this situation in the first place, so clearly I'm not looking at the situation the same way they are.
jaybrendansmith 1y ago
It's not existential for the Republicans. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING THEY WANT. This setup is essentially anti-democratic, which is why they are able to murder hundreds of thousands of aids patients in Africa and kill 'future you' through their cancelling the bulk of investment in life sciences.

consumer451 1y ago

> I’m glad there’s OxyContin and video games to keep those people quiet.

mcphage 1y ago

> The problem is that it's existential for both Democrats and Republicans. > If Republicans give up anything to the Democrats, the spell of the last 10 months is broken and Republicans can no longer unilaterally control the direction of government. How is that in any way shape or form “existential”? Existential means “if they fail they cease to exist or matter”, not “if they fail they don’t get to whatever the fuck they want”.

rainsford 1y ago
Yeah I did think about that after I made the post. I agree that you and jaybrendansmith are probably right in that it should be a bigger deal for the Democrats than the Republicans. I'm not sure Congressional Republicans see it that way though and I was thinking more about how they view the standoff, since that's important in seeing how or if there is a path towards ending the shutdown. They've made a pretty unprecedented bet on unilateral party-line action and the legislative branch significantly deferring to the executive. I'm sure they're concerned about what the party looks like trying to transition back to a more normal way of doing business, especially given what their voters are now primed to expect. I agree this should not be existential, but I also don't understand congressional Republicans putting themselves in this situation in the first place, so clearly I'm not looking at the situation the same way they are.

jaybrendansmith 1y ago

It's not existential for the Republicans. THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING THEY WANT. This setup is essentially anti-democratic, which is why they are able to murder hundreds of thousands of aids patients in Africa and kill 'future you' through their cancelling the bulk of investment in life sciences.