Serious question: what was the shutdown stopping Trump from doing?

I honestly think the Ds would have done well regardless, but I am open to the argument it helped with margins in VA. Still, that moment is over and so that has little to do with the vote to reopen now.

How is the minority party going to force the majority into that outcome?

But I don’t think the Democrats in the Senate have made any case that they see it as a fight over the regime (nor do I think they see it that way). Again: I wanted them to do so, but they didn’t so I don’t see how this can be assessed as a fight over the regime.

But the Dems never made this fight about fighting autocracy (and I wish they had and argued such back on 10/1). They made it about ACA subsidies and it has become to be about SNAP, ATCs, and gov’t employees. I am not sure what other endpoint was possible than something just like this.

Sincere question: what do you think the Dems could have wrung out of the Reps? While I think the Dems emerge from this shutdown better than I expected, PR-wise, I just can’t see a minority party getting major legislative concessions.

I must confess that given Argentina’s longterm politics, I find it hard to blame PR for its problems. I do not know enough about Indonesia to intelligently comment. I am honestly not sure I wouldn’t prefer Brazil’s institutional structure, with all its flaws, to ours.

It isn’t like there is some obvious pathway under current institutional parameters for the US to become more democratic without some sort of reform intervention.

It is a fair concern. But I also would argue that we are hitting legislative dysfunction in the US because our elections are not competitive, and hence not democratically response (or especially representative). PR for the House would change that.

I was hoping it was some future incarnation of The Doctor.

Setting aside the degree to which PR can be blamed for any of those guys (I have my doubts), I would note that at least the Brazilians had the wherewithal to prosecute Bolsonaro.

Likewise, the South Koreans.

Conversely, in a multi-seat district, a constituent would have multiple offices to appeal to.

Enhanced representativeness would be a boon to democracy even if we had to figure out a different mindset on constituent services.

Who knew Madison was writing about the petty ambition of a dude wanting to keep his Speaker job no matter how much kowtowing to the President he has to do!

If men were cretins, no legislative action would be necessary!

It is part of the quadrennial sport of making the NYC mayor's race waaay more important than it actually is.