The Shutdown Shit Show

Today I’m writing for The Big Picture substack on the government shutdown—a topic on millions of minds, especially as federal workers continue to go without pay while the feckless GOP remains out of session on orders of Mike Johnson.

I write about politics every day, and even I can find it hard to wrap my head around some basic questions. What exactly is so dysfunctional about our budgetary process that we keep driving into this ditch? What happened this time around that makes things worse than usual? And what do the parties really want and hope to achieve, and where do things stand over three weeks into this mess?

This was an ambitious piece to tackle, but I’m going to do my darnedest to walk readers through it. Think of it as part Politics 101 and part 3D chess match, explained. (Also, it answers, at least in part, that widely-shared but I believe unconvincing claim that Speaker Mike Johnson will just keep the House shut down forever.)

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Look for my piece out later this afternoon, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

Jay