The partial government shutdown continues without an end in sight as we endure a pointless petulant presidential pique. Economists are now predicting that if this continues all of the GDP growth for Q1 2019 could be wiped out, a massive loss of wealth for the nation that I think the global economy can ill afford Great Britain also suffers an economic crisis due to an un-negotiated exit from the European Union. With a narcissistic ignorant man-baby driving the crisis in the United States and cadre of elected leaders quaking in terror of an electorate that they raised in a hot house environment of anti-intellectualism, resentment, and victimhood, I don’t see away that we can reasonably hope to avoid the ship of our economy crashing onto these shoals.

In theory it is not up simply the President. Congress could pass the legislation to reopen the government, and if needed override a veto, but that would require that the Republicans face their voters and they still stand behind Trump in numbers that are truly mind bogglingly high.

Yes, the Democrats could also agree to the nearly 6 billion dollars in ‘wall’ funding but that is a mistake on several fronts.

First and I think most importantly, it a concession to blackmail. Trump is NOT engaged in a good faith negotiation. He offers nothing but reopening the government in return for getting the prize he covets. The Democrats had offered funding for the wall, or at least portions of it because 5.7 Billion is going wall off the southern border, in return for some of things that they wanted, DACA protections and the like. Trump even agreed to that but when conservative talking heads riled up the base, he reneged on the agreement and now demand that it’s everything he wants and nothing for the other side. The only proper response to such threat’s is the same as Wellington’s ‘Publish and be damned!’ (The GOP is all in on appeasement when it they themselves being appeased.)

Secondly, the American people are against the Wall. Now, you do not always bend to popular opinion, individual rights are now subject to mob approval, but this is nothing like that sort of case. By standing firm against the wall the House Democrats are representing a majority of the population.

2016 saw a wave election that was principally driven as a check against the president and any normal executive would have, in the face of the new political realities, moderated their position, but Trump, driven by ego without any comparable talent, cannot.