ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- Republicans are pushing two conflicting narratives at once, and the double talk has them flummoxed and tongue-tied.

The first narrative is that Democrats are weak, ineffective, out of touch and totally irrelevant to the politics of today. As President Donald Trump might put it, "they choke like dogs."

The second narrative is that Democrats are enormously powerful, downright shrewd and sophisticated enough in the ways of politics to orchestrate a government shutdown.

Which is it, Republicans?

I have the verdict. The Democratic Party is not guilty -- by reason of incompetence. Progressives are furious at Democrats for losing their way, and then losing the White House to Trump. The opposition party is spineless, feckless and directionless. Democrats can't organize a bake sale. Now they've somehow managed to shut down the entire federal government?

Holding the reins of the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court, Republicans have complete control over Washington. They wanted to dominate their opponents, and this is what domination looks like. Republicans have all the power.

But with power comes responsibility. When something goes wrong, someone must be held responsible. Why not the people -- and the party -- who are running things?

Recently, The Washington Post polled 1,010 people about the shutdown. Asked which party was responsible for the government closing down, 30% said Democrats in Congress. But 47% went with Trump and Republicans in Congress. 23% were not sure.

Here's a different question: Who cares that the government is shut down? The pain is more concentrated where most federal employees live -- Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. But, in Los Angeles, Las Vegas or Seattle, most people just live their lives.

When the Post asked respondents how concerned they were about the shutdown, only 25% said they were "very concerned." At the other extreme, only 12% said they were "not at all concerned." The majority fell somewhere in the middle, with 41% saying they were "somewhat concerned" and 22% claiming they were "not too concerned."

The media doesn't like the middle. They like stories about conflict. They want to talk about how the extremes are running wild and driving the agenda. But, when it comes to the shutdown, the public isn't making it easy for the storytellers to scratch that itch.

The media also wants Americans to feel sorry for government workers who could lose their jobs. In 36 years in journalism, I've lost 17 jobs. I don't remember sympathy cards flooding in from my friends and family members who work for the federal government.

Democrats are usually pro-government, and thus inclined to oppose a government shutdown. For their part, Republicans are naturally hostile to government, and usually eager to shut it down. Now the parties have swapped scripts. Trying to follow it all can be maddening.

Honestly, it's hard to feel sad about a government shutdown when the government has -- since Trump took office -- been purged of dissenters and commandeered by MAGA sycophants.

Since it has been Trumpified, government has not been behaving itself. For one thing, it tramples on people's rights. For another, it seeks out the president's enemies and tries to get even. Like an unruly toddler, the Trump version of government needs a timeout.

Moreover, Democrats have decided that health care is their strong card. They claim they're trying to protect Obamacare and restore the deep cuts to Medicaid that were part of the so-called big, beautiful bill. It's not a bad strategy. When it comes to providing health care, polls show Americans trust Democrats more than they do Republicans.

At the same time, Republicans are framing the shutdown as being about an issue on which, according to the same polls, Americans trust them more than Democrats: immigration. The Republicans' spin is that Democrats are willing to hold the federal government hostage to protect health care benefits for undocumented immigrants.

Nonsense. That issue is not on the table. Besides, if we have learned anything from the immigration raids, it is that Democrats don't care about immigrants -- legal or illegal -- any more than Republicans.

As a Mexican American and U.S. citizen, if I were profiled and picked up by ICE agents, and I got one phone call, I would not use it to call Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. As Trump likes to say, that I can tell you.

All good things come to an end. One day, the shutdown will be over. The two parties will come together and work out a compromise that puts the government back on track.

I'm sure I speak for millions of Americans when I say: Take your time, folks.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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