I will shut down the government. I will take that mantle

I am sure the admin's tone deaf statements about the suffering caused by trump's government shutdown is helping...

 

“This is your fault”

 

How out of touch do you have to be to think that this is an actual option for people?

 

Democrat members of the House Intelligence Committee had requested transcripts of Stone's testimony months ago but House republicans refused... they (The Democrats AND republicans) knew.

 

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Trump probably assumes that government employees can convince grocery stores to do this and when the employees fail to pay the stores back over time that the debt can get "cleaned up" during bankruptcy. A total win-win for the government employees.

 

Meanwhile, over on "Real GOPhusbands of the Potomac"

 

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...who says the Donald's not in touch with the common man?

...he probably hasn't really paid for anything in his life...so he figures everybody else can do it too...

 

You don't go down to HEB, Kroger, or Walmart and give them an IOU for your groceries?

 

Of COURSE I do! But only after I show my ID..

 

There is zero chance Donald Trump has ever been in a grocery store like a normal person.

 

McConnell tells Pence shutdown must end: https://thehill.com/homenews/morning-report/426920-the-hills-morning-report

One of the most remarkable moments during the Senate luncheon came when McConnell told Pence that shuttering the government to try to secure funding for a border wall was not a smart approach.

“McConnell talked about how we need to bring this process to a close; we should never have had a shutdown; they don’t work; I’ve said this numerous times; I don’t know how many times I’ve told you there’s no education in the second kick of a mule,” said a GOP source familiar with the meeting.

 

This seems like a reasonable approach to the worsening problem...

 

This is my favorite McConnellism. "No education in the second kick of a mule" is one of the most outstanding expressions I've ever heard. I've adopted it as one of my own sayings.

 

trump needs a way to change the story. I wouldn't be shocked to see him accept a promise to look at border security and drop his wall demand to end the shut down.

 

Agreed. Sanders said on tv this morning that the president isn't "hung up" on the wall funding. McConnell has let the lesson sink in. He'll make his move soon if he hasn't already and say "Mr. President, we can either do this with you saving face or we'll do this with a veto proof vote." Time and again this has been proven to be a bad strategy and he knows it.

 

But if he does this Coulter and Limbaugh will be mean to him!

His base however will somehow spin it as a win for him, just like everything else.

 

Even if there are workarounds that federal employees can use, they'll still have distress costs -- interest payments, late fees, chits cashed, foregone savings or investments, impacts on credit scores, etc. And it still completely ignores all the indirect economic impacts on local businesses and their workers. I was in DC this week for meetings and it is quiet. Fastest drive from DCA to downtown I've ever had. We asked our driver if business was slow and he said "Slow? I'll be dead in a month!" Guys like that won't get any back pay, nor do they have any ability to take a loan to pay for living expenses.