This column started out as a list of winners and losers of the government shutdown. But no one can win a situation like the one we’ve got today.
It’s the first government shutdown in seven years, but also the first I can remember where both sides seem to think the fight is good for their cause. They couldn’t be more wrong.
Here are the biggest losers of the shutdown so far:
1. The Democrats.
The offer on the table in recent days for Democrats is the same one they have asked for time and again in previous funding fights — a short-term extension of government funding at current levels, while a longer funding deal is negotiated.
But unlike years past, Senate Democrats rejected a “clean” continuing resolution to force a broader conversation on Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set