The optimal long-term outcome of the shutdown

Having completely miscalculated the Democratic response (not entirely without reason, it must be said) and having no plan B, Trump is so desperate he’s proposing solutions that would make the country more democratic:

In early October, several Trump administration officials had a friendly pool going of how long the shutdown would last. The White House, at the time, was confident Democrats would quickly fold.

No one guessed more than 10 days.

The account, relayed by a person close to the White House granted anonymity to discuss internal thinking, underscores just how much the administration miscalculated the Democrats’ will to keep the government closed even amid furloughs and imperiled social programs like food assistance.

As the shutdown heads into its second month, President Donald Trump is increasingly frustrated. On Thursday, he called for Republicans to abolish the filibuster to reopen the government — a plea he knows is futile, but that demonstrates his growing irritation with Democrats, said a second person close to the White House.

The assumed futility of the plea should reaffirm what should be obvious — the legislative filibuster is overwhelmingly a tool for reactionary interests, and Republicans don’t want to eliminate it entirely even though it would allow them to immediately reopen the government while making no concessions to Democrats.

That Republicans don’t want to do the right thing in terms of legislative procedure, though, is a major source of leverage for Democrats right now. Major, substantive concessions, or no deal. If Republicans want to pass a funding bill without making concessions make majority rule the rule going forward.