Ross: What to call it if it isn’t a ‘Trump shutdown’
Jan 7, 2019, 9:03 AM
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
I’ve been having a Twitter debate with a couple of people who think it’s unfair to call this a “Trump shutdown.”
Which strikes me as ridiculous. What would really be unfair would be to not call it a Trump shutdown. The president was refreshingly clear in that Oval Office debate with Chuck and Nancy last month.
“I will shut down the government, I will take the mantle,” Trump said.
So yes, I call it the Trump shutdown. Just like when Obama started calling the Affordable Care Act “Obamacare,” so did I. It’s only polite.
It’s like when a company pays millions to put its name on a bowl game, you use the name. Like the “Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl,” or “Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl,” or the “Gasparilla Bowl.” And since the president seems to be willing to pay any political price for this, he should get naming rights.
As for how this should end – it is his constituents who have the most skin in the game here. Of the 15 states most dependent on federal money in various forms, I count 11 red states. Which means they have control of their destiny. If they decide the shutdown isn’t working, they could join with Democrats and put together enough votes to override any veto and end this tomorrow. Whatever it’s called.
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