Government Shut Down

The government just shut down (midnight EST) due to lack of a funding bill. I suspect this will become a fairly major deal, as Trump’s first year in office comes to a close.

The Republicans are blaming the Democrats of course, but as they hold the House and Senate and White House its a little hard to justify. The spending bills they put forward all had indigestible riders attached.

These are interesting times we live in.

How long will federal offices be kept closed? A week? A month? Forever?

The SOTU is Monday. Should be fun.

Great deal-making, Mr. Trump.

Interesting, even Fox News is blaming the Republicans and Trump.

Tomorrow Republicans may have to apologize and reverse direction — in order to throw Trump a life ring for his SOTU.

Really, it's just Trump. He doesn't know what he's doing, and doesn't have any clear policies. The Republicans keep trying to prepare bills for him to sign, based on what he says, and then he turns round and says the opposite, so they are back to square one. It's all so pathetically incompetent it's almost funny.

Mrs NoCo had a great idea.

Amazon is looking for a new 2nd campus. How about the Capital Building????

To be fair, the Republicans are complaining because the Dems attached a DACA rider to the bill.  They say an immigration bill has no place in a government funding bill.

That sounds right, actually.

But then the wall funding keeps getting added to other things too. It’s the way the game is played.

Let me know if you can't read this.

Shutdown agreement! Trump is to blame.

Yeah, I can read it.  The Art of the Deal indeed.  “Like nailing Jell-O to the wall.”

And the optics of shutting down the government on the anniversary of the inauguration, a couple days before the SOTU, on the very night Trump was holding a $100,000/plate fundraiser in Mar-A-Lago, must’ve been irresistible.

"Essential services" like the mail and VA hospitals and Air Traffic Control stay open.

Too bad Congress -- which REALLY is not essential -- is excepted.

Mueller of course soldiers on.

It proves the Republicans are much better at OPPOSING than they are at PROPOSING.

The Senate has approved a spending bill that carries us through February 8.  That's 17 days of relief.

Will we be in the same situation in 2½ weeks?  Only time will tell.  One indicator: Republicans have not had a budget -- not a BALANCED budget, but any kind of budget bill at all -- since coming to power in 2010.

Fucking Democrats. Pulled DACA from the bill on a "promise" of getting DACA reauthorized after the shutdown's over. Fucking gullible fools. How many times does it take to stop trusting McConnell???

Next Thursday February 8 we get to witness the dysfunction all over again because the morons in Congress can't get the most basic stuff done.

If competency were a requirement for keeping their jobs....