For those seeking context regarding the recent partial government shutdown, please consider the following, brief analysis.
First, funding the government and funding the border wall are two distinct issues. The two are currently spoken of in the same breath only because the president has seen fit to combine them. It is possible, and entirely reasonable, that government funding and funding for the border wall could have been addressed separately, thereby avoiding the government shutdown completely.
Second, ceding to the president’s demands for border wall funding, or else, would set a bad precedent in governance. It would be saying to the president that he can get whatever he wants by taking a portion of the government hostage instead of negotiating an outcome, as the system is meant to work.
Third, if funding the border wall has always been indispensable, why was it not funded during the first two years of this administration, when Republicans held majorities in both houses of Congress?
The fact is, this government shutdown is the result of an ill-advised power play that will inevitably serve as a wedge to further widen the gap between the president’s political base and the rest of the nation.
Tom Cline, Sandy
