Republicans are determined to blame Democrats for a government shutdown that, should it take place, will be entirely of their own making.
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On Thursday night, after Republican leaders, at the behest of the Republican president-elect, pulled legislation that Republicans had negotiated, the same Republican leaders offered an alternative that Republicans had written in the Republican-controlled House. It failed because the Republican majority could not get enough House Republicans to vote for it.
And now, Republicans want Americans to believe that Democrats are to blame if the government shuts down.
If they succeed, the country will be in even greater trouble than it already is.
Because that means gaslighter-in-chief Donald Trump, Department of Misinformation chairman Elon Musk, and the vast right-wing propaganda network will be able to get away with anything.
Now, you might ask: “How could anybody believe this when the facts are so clear?”
That’s a great question.
Sadly, the possibility of Trump, Musk, et al. succeeding is not zero.
On Thursday, after losing the vote, they certainly gave it a shot.
“Objectively, the vast majority of Republican House members voted for the spending bill, but only 2 Democrats did,” Musk stated afterwards. “Therefore, if the government shuts down, it is obviously the fault of [House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)] and the Democratic Party. Plain & simple.”
That is pretty simple… if you are a total moron existing in an alternate reality.
However, since so many MAGA voters live there, lots of them will be convinced that Democrats really are to blame, even though it was Republicans who first reneged on a deal both parties had reached and then hoped that Democrats would bail them out (once again) on a funding bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also tried to hold Democrats responsible for the mess he made. Of course, to be fair, he is just a hapless tool of Musk and Trump. Therefore, in a way, he also isn’t to blame because he simply does what those two tell him.
Just like vice president-elect JD Vance, who claimed that “Democrats just voted to shut down the government” (which is what a vote on the original compromise legislation would prevent).
Vance, speaking in front of a young boy and an even younger girl, also said that Democrats “would rather shut down the government and fight for global censorship bullshit.” Presumably, it is also the Democrats’ fault that he cursed in front of (presumably) his kids.
So, if Johnson refuses to bring back the negotiated deal, and therefore shuts down the government tonight, the most interesting question will be how Americans react.
There is no doubt that most MAGA Republicans will ignore the facts and blame Democrats regardless. But what about everybody else?
This is a more important moment than many people seem to realize.
Over the next four years, millions of Americans are going to be hurt by Trump’s policies. If there is a GOP-led government shutdown, this will just be the first time of many. But will the victims of these policies understand who is responsible?
If yes, then the American people themselves will be the most important check on the incoming president and the Republican majorities in Congress.
If not, then God help us all.
In his Navigating the Insanity columns, Klaus Marre provides the kind of hard-hitting, thought-provoking, and often humorous analysis you won’t find anywhere else.
