The Triumvirate Is Tripping Over Itself

Magnify everything they’re doing wrong. Block everything you can. Kneecap the bullshit at every opportunity.

After the results of the Nov. 5 election, there’s been a lot of despondency among Democrats and progressives and liberals. A lot of hopes were dashed as the desire to return to some semblance of normalcy was thwarted.

The natural reaction (or at least one natural reaction) to such a stunning loss after such a huge investment of time, energy, and emotions is to retreat, to turn inward, to lick one’s wounds, and to check out.

But the events of the last 48 hours might be enough to rouse us from that altered state and get at least some of us back into action. The absolute chaos of yet another attempted government shutdown — this time at the behest of an unelected foreign-born billionaire — should provide some measure of optimism.

It might seem counterintuitive that the risk of a government shutdown should instill hope in us. But here’s my reasoning:

• The back and forth among Mike Johnson, Donald Trump, and Elon Musk revealed who’s pulling the strings. It’s the world’s wealthiest man. That…