• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Beyond Compromise: Government Shutdown Reveals US Politics at Crossroads

Peter Bloom by Peter Bloom
01/18/19
in Opinion
A sign is displayed on a government building that is closed because of the US government shutdown in Washington

The current US government shutdown is the longest ever. Photo: AFP

13
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The U.S. government shutdown is now the longest ever. It is a standoff between a Republican president who is demanding what most see as unnecessary border wall and a Democratic Congress that is refusing to give in to his irrational whims.

Donald J. Trump has told the nation there is a crisis on the border with little evidence to back up his grandiose claims. In the face of legislative opponents and an increasingly disbelieving public, he has signaled that he is willing to declare a national emergency. At the very least, it is becoming abundantly clear that conventional U.S. politics is under attack.

The media has largely focused on the devastating effects of this shutdown. News channels blare images of TSA workers calling in sick rather than being forced to work for free or once pristine national parks now covered under mountains of trash.

#governmentshutdown #shutdown Quick pic on my bike ride in. That’s the White House in the background. The National Park can’t empty trash cans next to the Washington Monument. pic.twitter.com/qC93aPVkq5

— Nick Schwellenbach (@schwellenbach) January 2, 2019

The traditional refrain at this point in the past would be calls for moderates in both parties to step up and take leadership to reach a bipartisan compromise. Current politicians though face a much more existential question: is it worth it to cave into such unreasonable demands just get the government working again?

New Political Era

The traditional prioritization of consensus over principle is threatened. Since at least Ronald Reagan, mainstream U.S. politics has embraced a shared neoliberal belief in economic free markets in practice backed up by rhetoric social inclusion. Politics was waged in the margins of this shared world view – an intensely partisan battle over its details.

A decade after a near global financial collapse and in the midst of growing inequality, insecurity, and social division this supposed “end of history” now appears to lie in ruins. New politicians from both the left and right explicitly challenging the status quo have emerged from its rubble. From the bottom up have come ever louder calls for genuine transformational change – whether in the form of socialism or reactionary defenses of “white nationalism.”

The shutdown represents this new political era where politicians refuse to be ethically compromised by temporary partisan compromises. Previous moderates have been forced to march along to the suddenly radical path forged by their more ideologically extreme bases that favor the possibility of real change over the probability of more of the same.

For some, this reflects little more than both sides being held hostage by their more radical grassroots supporters. It supposedly shows the peril of allowing such radicals to dictate mainstream politics. However, these surface-level laments are the fundamental questions raised by this prolonged shutdown: who does the government govern for and what will come next? 

All around the world, aggrieved workers and citizens are trying to stop the current status quo in its tracks.

British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives in Brussels for a European Union summit
British Prime Minister Theresa May. Photo: John Thys, AFP

In the U.K., both Remain and Leave temporarily united in their rejections of a Brexit deal put before them by elites and shared little to no confidence in their Prime Minister Theresa May. In India, 200 million workers are on strike against government plans to weaken labor laws and prevent unionization. Just this week, across the world, Los Angeles teachers are also striking for better conditions for their students and better benefits for themselves.

Divided and Angry Nation

As the shutdown continues seemingly without end, politicians are starting to realize they have entered rather uncharted territory. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has even threatened to cancel the president’s annual State of the Union Address scheduled for later this month.

US President Donald Trump was to visit the Texas community of McAllen and meet with local border patrol agents during his trip to the US-Mexico border
Donald Trump during his trip to the US-Mexico border to promote his controversial border wall project. Photo: Brendan Smialowski, AFP

Putting such partisan brinksmanship aside, the State of the Union is tragic and clear – the nation is divided, angry, and wanting something different and better than what it currently has. The shutdown is just the most obvious example of our current system, and those in charge of it simply are not sustainable in the face of the profound problems the country and world face in the new millennium.

Trump is proposing the wall as a last-ditch effort to portray his administration as an agent of change. The Democrats have rightfully refused to give into his jingoism and racially charged vision of the American future.

At some point soon, one side will finally blink, and the government will resume. Regardless of how it ultimately ends, the shutdown has shown that the old politics is over and a radically new one must be found.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
Share13Tweet
Peter Bloom

Peter Bloom

Professor at the University of Essex

Related Posts

A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021
National

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

by Staff Writer
May 26, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.
National

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

by Staff Writer
May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg
National

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

by Staff Writer
May 16, 2023
A man holding a gun
Opinion

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

by Stephen J. Lyons
May 12, 2023
US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill
National

US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill

by Staff Writer
May 11, 2023
A laptop screen showing ChatGPT
National

Scientists Use Brain Scans and AI to ‘Decode’ Thoughts

by Staff Writer
May 1, 2023
Next Post
Paris On Knife-Edge Ahead of New ‘Yellow Vest’ Protests

Same Old Elite? Macron's 'Revolution' Fails With Fed Up French

Nigerian refugee women with children

UN Hails Ethiopia Move to Offer Refugees Jobs, Education and Banking

Recommended

A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

May 26, 2023
Customers queue to enter a re-opened Zara clothes shop

EU Targets Fast Fashion in Push for Durable Goods

May 23, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

May 16, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill

US Panel Recommends Nonprescription Use of Contraception Pill

May 11, 2023

Opinion

A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A Supreme Folly 

April 24, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post