they only need 50 votes; all mcturtle needs to do is change the rules.

they are 2 years away from being in the minority, and he would be giving the Dems carte blanche.

Too many GOP Senators would not agree.

like I said, they need exactly zero dem votes to do anything they want; they are in charge of all rules in the senate. It is inaccurate to say they need dem votes; they are unwilling to change the rules - that’s the story. We want them to change the rules so that we can take advantage of that when take over the senate and presidency and can pass all the bills in the world in a matter of months transforming the country barring RW courts interference - which we can also expand with simple majority.

because it will come back and bite them in 2020.

And enough GOP Senators said they won't vote for the rule change.

Besides they have to change the rules at the beginning of the Session. The Dems will have the House if they did change the rules next week.

And the GOP did pass a CR, it's Trump who completely owns this.

Trump and his GOP have decided their opening move in the new congress is this shutdown. it's not just a tantrum; it's "negotiation".

pick a fight that doesn't need to be fought, sow chaos, hold the innocent hostage. we're right back where we were during Obama's 8 years.

anyone who thinks President Asshole doesn't have cards left to play is wrong. he doesn't give a fuck about the federal government and neither do his fellow grifters; he was hired to wreck the place.

But do a majority of Republican Senators really want a prolonged shutdown? They already passed a no-wall CR before Christmas that would have kept the government open. If the House hands them that CR again, will a majority go to the mat for Trump’s wall? If not, his only option is to veto the CR if he wants to keep this up, which would make him the sole owner of the shutdown.

Some Senators are fine with it, I'd wager: Cotton, Lee, Paul, other Tea-party bomb-throwers. Maybe the new racist dim bulb from MS.

If it goes into February maybe the rest of them will make a peep. Don't count on it from any that are up for re-election in 2020 - they're afraid of a primary challenge from their right.

That said, I hope the new House takes the tack you're suggesting. It's a fine opening move.

There is video of him saying so. The DNC needs to make a commercial out of that video/audio and flood the TV and radio airwaves with it to a point where every American citizen has heard it numerous times. We can't afford a situation where only people who watch cable and network news have heard it.

I think the pressure from citizens is going to be hard to ignore. And when crucial services start to fail, they'll voice their displeasure.

We also have the advantage that most Americans don't give a shit about the wall.

what we libs want doesn't count with Trump or his anti-federal arsonists. our anger and frustration is their joy; stigginit is why they elected him.

which essential services will start to fail? essential service employees have to continue working, without pay. the IRS will shut down and Trumpists will cheer.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/12/20/18136667/partial-government-shutdown-post-office-military-passports

propaganda machine will change the narrative accusing the Democrats of being responsible for the shut down. The general public will get confused and with the 24/7 propaganda machine in full throttle Republicans will force Democrats to be on the defensive.

In the world of alternative facts, a win will be declared by President Hannity, repeated by Faux, and then by tRump. A significant portion of the die hard tRump base will believe they are winning.

is about the Federal workers, and the uncounted Federal contract workers that are collectively losing millions of dollars in income daily.

The Republican politicians continue to be paid and are warm and snug in their taxpayer funded beds.

How is any of this a good thing?

Good

Politically, the GOP knows that the shutdown can't continue indefinitely and there is no popular support for Trump's Wall. Realistically speaking, the GOP will have to fold eventually and either talk sense into Trump or pass a clean bill and help Democrats override an anticipated veto. This ends relatively shortly after the new Congress begins IMHO.