Don’t Expect a Shutdown to Change Much

With a government shutdown upon us, it’s worth pondering this drama’s endgame. Does anyone seriously think Democrats in the Senate or the White House will abandon the president’s signature legislative accomplishment in order to appease a few dozen congressional Republicans with an appetite for hyperbole? Hands? Anyone? Didn’t think so.

So, after some to-be-determined period of political squirming, Democrats and Republicans will reach a deal to fund the government at more or less current levels for either a shorter or a longer duration. The result will be a continuation of the current government by sequestration, itself a product of extreme dysfunction.