When Washington Shuts Down
By Ben Everidge for Thomas
Photo Credit: Adobe Stock by By Trionorejo Using AI
An Independent’s Take on a Paralyzed Government …
The federal government has one basic duty above all others: to keep the people’s government open and functioning. When Washington allows a shutdown, it betrays that most fundamental responsibility. Once again, the two major parties have failed.
From an independent’s perspective, this isn’t just a partisan skirmish. It’s evidence of a system incapable of governing itself. The shutdown is not a mark of principle, but a symptom of dysfunction.
Where the Republicans Are Right – and Wrong
Republicans are right to argue that federal spending is out of control. The national debt has topped $34 trillion, and neither party has shown fiscal restraint in decades and each owns its unacceptable part of the big jump in our national debt thanks to spending on their respectives budget watch. Demanding accountability, spending caps, or structural reforms to entitlement programs reflects a real concern that the federal budget cannot sustain itself.
But Republicans are wrong to weaponize the shutdown as leverage. Forcing federal employees to go unpaid, halting critical services, and undermining stability is not fiscal discipline. It’s political hostage-taking. An economic system cannot thrive on perpetual threats of collapse.
Where the Democrats Are Right – and Wrong
Democrats are right to argue that government services matter to real people: food inspections, air traffic control, Social Security checks, veterans’ benefits, and healthcare subsidies for those who can least afford their premiums. Shutting down government undermines these essential functions and weakens public trust. They are also right to resist deep cuts that would harm working families.
But Democrats are wrong to dismiss structural reform altogether. Too often, their response is simply to fund everything and push deficits further down the road. They have failed to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiation on entitlement reform, tax modernization, or budget process changes that could bring stability.
What Independents Could Have Done To Help
If independents held more seats in Congress, America, the shutdown might not have happened. Independents could:
Broker Honest Compromise: Independents are not bound by party leadership, which means they could negotiate without the political theater that locks Democrats and Republicans into ideological corners.
Champion Long-Term Budget Reforms: From multi-year budgets to automatic continuing resolutions, independents could push structural solutions that prevent shutdowns altogether.
Prioritize People Over Posturing: Independents could force votes that keep government workers paid, even during disputes, while negotiations continue.
Shutdowns happen because the current two-party system rewards brinkmanship. Independents would change the incentive structure by refusing to play chicken with the nation’s economy.
A Short History of Shutdowns Since Kennedy
Shutdown politics are not new. Since the modern budget process was created in 1974, there have been more than 20 “funding gaps” and over a dozen actual shutdowns. But even before that:
1960s (Kennedy & Johnson): No shutdowns, but growing budget pressures tied to Vietnam and Great Society programs.
1970s (Nixon & Ford): Budget battles intensified, and the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 created the system of continuing resolutions we still use today.
1980s (Reagan): Eight funding gaps occurred, some lasting a day or two, as Reagan clashed with a Democratic Congress. These set the pattern for shutdown brinkmanship.
1995-1996 (Clinton vs. Gingrich): Two major shutdowns, the longest at 21 days, over Medicare, education, and deficit reduction. Republicans were widely blamed.
2013 (Obama): A 16-day shutdown over attempts to defund the Affordable Care Act. Republicans again bore most of the public blame.
2018-2019 (Trump): The longest shutdown in U.S. history – 35 days – over border wall funding. This one fell hardest on Republicans, though Democrats were criticized for refusing to compromise.
Since Kennedy, nearly every president has faced the threat of shutdown, but only in the past 40 years has it become a weapon of choice.
Who Will Be Blamed This Time?
History suggests the party seen as driving the shutdown usually bears the political cost. In most cases, Republicans have shouldered more of the blame, especially when they are perceived as forcing the government to close over ideological demands.
Yet independents see both parties at fault. Democrats refuse reform; Republicans embrace brinkmanship. Both are complicit in our view.
Still, if the past is a guide, Republicans in Congress, especially the House majority, will likely be blamed the most, even though the current hang up rests with the Senate in the final hours before the shutdown occurred. House Republicans control the chamber that holds the purse strings, and the public general views shutdowns as a failure of leadership in the House in the end.
