Pressed on what House Republicans want to get out the national government shutdown, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) said yesterday: “We’re not going to be disrespected. We have to get something out of this. And I don’t know what that even is.”
We’ve seen this movie before. And I don’t mean the 1995/96 shutdown or the impeachment sequel three years later. This is more like that 70s era made for TV movie.
The down and outs have hijacked the school bus and taken the kids captive. But now the cops have shown up. They’re surrounded. It’s pretty clear our heroes are not getting the million dollars in unmarked bills or the plane to Cuba or Shangri-La or ThreeTimeLoserStan. So now they’re fidgety and angry, a mix of desperate and threatening. They’re not even sure what they want or perhaps more candidly, what they can get. But they better get something!
It all makes negotiation challenging.
