Seriously, how in the hell do you write a lede like this?
Much of the federal government officially shut down early Saturday morning after Senate Democrats, showing remarkable solidarity in the face of a clear political danger, blocked consideration of a stopgap spending measure to keep the government operating.
Oh yes, there’s political danger, but not for the Democratic Party. In the last couple of days, three different outfits have all polled a possible government shutdown, asking Americans whom they’d fault should one occur. The answers were very consistent:
ABC/Washington Post:
Trump & GOP: 48
Democrats: 28
CNN:
Trump or GOP: 47
Democrats: 31
Quinnipiac:
Trump or GOP: 53
Democrats: 34
It seems that the public does indeed understand that Republicans control the entire federal government, putting the blame for this disaster squarely on the party in power. It’s a pity so much of the traditional media doesn’t also grasp this very simple fact.