Who knew?  We did.  Normal people did.  Many of us felt like we were standing in front of a train hurtling towards a cliff screaming, “STOP! STOP!” while it sped up as it reached the edge.  Well, we’re reaching the edge, and it is virtually 100% Trump induced. When he got his gigantic tax cut rammed through, the business community cheered.  When he started his trade war, the business community was concerned, but his base cheered.  Then he pissed off our closest allies and estranged us from NATO while cozying up to Putin.  He’s now pushing lifting sanctions against Russia.  And worse?  We’re now in our 32nd day of an unprecedented government shutdown, Trump holding a gun to the head of 800,000 workers and the entire US economy.

As this disaster drags on, adults in the room have gone from reluctant questioning to full fledged alarm.  Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan says a long shutdown could wipe out the entire first quarter of economic growth.  Worse, some economists are worrying about a global slowdown, especially since China is also suffering from the trade war (even though their trade surplus with us has exploded since Trump started his idiotic trade war).  The invertebrates in DC, led by Ol’ Scratch McConnell, do nothing but make fundraising calls for re-election.

And the American people are helpless to do anything.  Representatives’ and Senators’ voicemail boxes are full, no one is taking calls, and emails get canned responses.  Trumpists cheer as Rome burns.

And the real problem?  You can’t negotiate with kidnappers.  If the Dems cave to Trump’s demands, this will become his normal negotiating tactic.  He’ll skip congress all together and just shut down the government every time he can’t get what he wants.  The result is that, unfortunately,  this is a game of chicken that the Dems can’t lose.