In the ideal of the American political system, the government would never have reached the point of being shut down. The Republicans and Democrats would have compromised on the tax cut bill. The ACA subsidies and Medicaid would not have been cut. A crisis would not have been created, and the government would still be open.
The system of representative government was built on the premise that differing interests would compromise for the good of the country.
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A situation where one party would control the federal government and ignore all other voices was not imaginable to those who designed the system.
When one political party chooses to unilaterally govern, the other party can’t sit back and pretend like this is business as usual, but that is what Democrats in the Senate did early in Trump’s term.
Even as their supporters urged them to fight, the institutionalist Democrats in the Senate placed their faith in the institution and believed that things would be fine.
They were wrong.
One of the Republican talking points during this shutdown is that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has been pulled left by the far left of his party, but that is not an accurate statement.
The force that is moving Democrats to fight is coming from the party itself, and this is a reality that Republicans have failed to grasp.
Democrats who are committed to fighting for healthcare in Congress aren’t just on the far left. They are also the centerists and moderates that Republicans have traditionally counted on to crack during episodes like government shutdowns.
The anger isn’t just among Democratic supporters anymore.
It has spread to members of Congress as well.
Here is the evidence that the dynamic has shifted.
