With the two parties very far apart on terms for a measure to keep the federal government open after funding runs out on September 30, the odds of at least a temporary government shutdown are soaring every day. You would normally think the party that controls the federal government top to bottom would get the bulk of the blame for this development. But Republicans will be very quick to point out that the shutdown, if it happens, will be triggered by a Democratic filibuster of a GOP-sponsored stopgap spending bill in the Senate.

Such a shutdown can end in three ways: There’s a compromise, which seems increasingly remote given the partisan political climate in the country; Democrats give up, which could them into deep trouble with their own highly combative base; or Republicans vote to nu

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