Go figure!

A proverbial Chinese curse invites an unfortunate listener to “live in interesting times.” That’s a fair way to describe an era of escalating crisis or unfolding collapse.

From political chaos in Washington, to the genocide in Gaza enabled by occasional unanimity supporting a bipartisan commitment to militarism, a steady and accelerating erosion of independence across the entire field of journalism makes it all possible. So many problems have emerged to confront our society that it can seem bewildering to merely name (let alone meaningfully investigate) them all.

If nothing else, this kind of velocity in current events offers plenty of opportunities for observation. Life is rarely boring for writers—especially in times like these.

That’s how the cookie crumbles

I spent a few days over the weekend pulling together a post that I was about to publish last night, before discovering at the last second that events ultimately overcame my predictions and required revisiting my central thesis.

The piece I had written focused on how a litany of crises crowding the news cycle had distracted the public from a predictable crisis developing on Capitol Hill, where a government shutdown had loomed as early as this Friday.

Looking at the recent history in Congress, it seemed far from likely that a deal could be reached to continue funding the government. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was removed by his own caucus after reaching a bipartisan agreement with Democrats, and nothing substantial has changed in the weeks since then beyond the election of his right-wing successor.

On the one hand, I was right that current events continue to seize public attention and polarize public discussion. Yet, despite my prediction of a lingering logjam in Congress, it seems that policymakers were actually able to get their act together for once this Tuesday night.

What the deal means

On the one hand, the House approving a bipartisan measure to continue funding the government might seem like a political victory for Republicans, and particularly new Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). After all, had the government shut down so immediately after his election to the Speakership, it would have defined his time in the office and likely limited his political capital going forward.

But that would be the wrong lesson to take away.

If anything, Johnson is walking in his predecessor’s footsteps by relying on support from Democrats. He relies no less than McCarthy on the continued support of the extreme fringes of his caucus, while ironically courting Democrats—who can plausibly claim a political victory themselves, since the Continuing Resolution approved by the House lacks the spending cuts to government programs long sought by Republicans.

Ultimately, the biggest beneficiary is the American people, if only because government shut downs always prove so catastrophic to recipients of federal benefits and public programs relying on federal support.

Politics will continue to offer melodrama on Capitol Hill, and the news cycle will remain crowded for the foreseeable future—but at least one mess has been cleared off the table for the rest of 2023.

In all honesty, I’m glad that my prediction of unrelenting dysfunction in Congress has been proven wrong, for the moment.

Then again, the new Continuing Resolution funds some government agencies only until late January, and others through early February—so we will likely be right back here again in just a few months.

Stay tuned, and thanks for reading!