Sputnik: Following the end of this three-day government shutdown, US president Donald Trump is stating that this is a big win for the Republicans. Is Trump right in hailing this as a win for him and the Republican Party?
Dave Lindorff: I don’t think anybody really won here, but it showed the weakness of the Democrats because of their conservative members from certain states, where members weren’t willing to go to the map and therefore didn’t have the votes to hold their block on the budget. It also shows the weakness of the Republicans going forward because they’ve taken such a strong stance against Hispanics in the country.
Dave Lindorff: Well, we’ll see. The point it did show the Democrats are strictly limited and how obstructionist they can be as an opposition party, even though they are very close at 51-49 in the Senate. It’s not a block, both parties have members who range from very ideological and adamant against reconciliation, to people who want to play the middle and don’t want to alienate the voters in those states. Even if there are 4 or 5 of these senators in the Democrats it stops them being a block against horrible policies from the Republicans.
READ MORE: Trump Not to Negotiate Immigration Reform 'Until Democrats Stop Playing Games'
Sputnik: What effect has this government shutdown had on federal workers and the wider society? What are the costs for such a large scale shutdown as the one we've witnessed over the past 3 days?
The views and opinions expressed in the article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.