NO, THE TRUMP SHUTDOWN IS NOT A GAME OF CHICKEN!

The government shutdown, initiated by Donald Trump two weeks ago, is not, as many pundits, politicians, talking heads and even journalists are saying, a "game of chicken." The game of chicken :

Chicken is a game in which two players drive cars at each other. The first to swerve away and slow down loses and is humiliated as the "chicken"; if neither player swerves, the result is a potentially fatal head-on collision. The principle of the game is to create pressure until one person backs down.
The phrase game of chicken is also used as a metaphor for a situation where two parties engage in a showdown where they have nothing to gain, and only pride stops them from backing down. (Wikipedia accessed 01/04/2019 3:58PM PST)

In other words, the two parties agree to play the game, and it is a stupid game that can result in terrific damage to one or both parties. Donald Trump initiated the government shut down; the Congressional Democrats did not agree to it.

There is way too much false equivalence going on in the press around the shutdown situation. "Will the Democrats concede?" is a common statement/question we hear often in the broadcast news. "Who will win this game of chicken" is an expression gaining popularity in the press. I hate to use the expression, but...Fake News! What should the Democrats concede? And only one person/party is recklessly driving.

There is no equivalency between the Trump/Republican position and the Democratic position about the shutdown: Trump/Republicans want $5.6 billion for the Trump Wall, or Steel Slats, or The Whatever, or the government will stay shut down. The Democrats want government opened immediately, and they want time to negotiate a comprehensive, bipartisan bill about border security and immigration policy reform. One position - Trump/Republican - is politics and ego; the other position - Democrats - is good government.

In the meantime, Trump has made hostages of 800,000 federal employees, and the well-being of countless American citizens affected by the shutdown, to try to force the Democrats to give him what he wants. Today he threatened that the shutdown could continue "for months, maybe years" unless he gets his way. What a petulant bully! Does Melania know that Donald is NOT being best? (She really doesn't care. Do you?)

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