Talk About Quick-Change Artists.

       Okay, now I'm really getting confused. the whole reason for shutting down the government was to repeal or, mainly, to defund Obamacare. I thought it was a terrible reason, but at least I understood what they were trying to do. I vehemently disagreed, but I understood. I think shutting down the government because you can't get your way is really childish. I also believe it would have undercut our entire system of governing, right back to our founding fathers.
       Now I find out that defunding Obamacare is no longer the reason for the shutdown. How can this be? Just yesterday it was the whole reason, now it's not any part of the reason. Well, it seems that leaders of the shutdown gang were beginning to find out that the shutdown to defund Obamacare was unpopular with the electorate. Big time! The leaders were flabbergasted to say the least. After all, they had had no idea such a backlash could happen. After all they had only been told by everybody with any memory beyond even a week ago there would be a backlash.
       So they quickly whispered a new strategy for this week. Now they will convert the Obamacare shutdown  into the benefits programs shutdown. Surely this will endear them into the hearts of the millions upon millions of Americans who depend on help to get by on the low wages they are stuck with. The new strategy includes offering funding for a few items of the budget they know will find favor with everyone, but carefully evades any funding for everything they have never liked. They now call these proposals negotiating. The plan seems to be to get everything they want that they think the other side will accept passed and then claim they negotiated. Then they'll claim that since they negotiated, they won't have to give up any more.
       It's a clever strategy for a first graders, but usually by second grade everyone can see through the perfidy. Ya see, there is no intention on the part of the shutdown gang to negotiate. Their only goal is to get the other side to negotiate away everything, without them having to give up anything whatsoever themselves. They think this idea will work because they think the American people are just a bunch of dolts. Well? Are we?