The Government Shuts Down. Where Have All the Compromisers Gone?

As I begin this post, the federal government has been shut down for several days..  Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans were able to reach the 60 vote threshold in the U.S. Senate to advance their respective legislative plans.  The GOP insisted that a ‘clean’ continuing resolution (CR) be passed without conditions. Democrats demanded that the government extend expiring Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies enacted during the pandemic, and restore Medicaid cuts contained in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed months ago as the price of their CR support.  The GOP expressed willingness to discuss these health issues, but only if a clean CR is passed first.  The Democrats countered that tying their legislative priorities to the CR gives them leverage to achieve their desired health policy objectives.  Interestingly, this past March, many Democrats supported a clean CR without adding on their legislative preferences.  Hmm…

By the time this is posted, hopefully the government will be up and running and we will have returned to some semblance of normalcy, whatever normal is in these abnormal times.

I am not going to comment on which side has the better argument or strategy.  Both sides are locked in conflict and blame the other for partisanship and intransigence.  Both sides are competing in very high stakes political jousting without much concern for the real people who will be suffering the consequences.  We were told to expect with a shutdown, massive federal employee furloughs, and even permanent firings, with the closing of various agencies that the Trump administration is hostile to.  Will all of this help struggling Americans?  The Democrats argue that their insistence on attaching health care funding to the CR shows that they are the ones who care about real people.  Could their newfound aggressive posture, however, be partially explained by raw politics because they remember when the left flank of their party was enraged months ago when they capitulated to the GOP in passing a clean CR? 

If you disagree with a neighbor, which of the following two images would describe your response?

or

This is all so discouraging and demoralizing.  Real people are hurting while our elected officials are engaged in political combat, angling for any advantage as they demonize their opponents in a game of chicken.  Is this how we conduct ourselves in our personal lives?  I hope not. What’s changed in D.C in the past few decades?   Previously, there was comity across the aisle.  Compromise was pursued, not disdained.  And, the legislative chambers were filled with political moderates, who these days can be categorized as endangered species.  Where have all the compromisers gone?

How likely is it that these current political realities and increasing polarization of the nation and our elected officials will unite the nation and serve the greater good?  (Hint: Not likely.)

Let’s call for a shutdown of this zero-sum game of politics which is fueling anger, stifling progress and leaving real people at the side of the road. 

I have a dim recollection when we taught our kids the Golden Rule.   Might be worth it to include it again in life’s curriculum, assuming that we could even agree on this.

If you and your neighbor disagree, would you prefer that he extends his hand to you or a fist?