DEAR EDITOR:

What government shutdown are we talking about? If it’s the government of the people, for the people, that government ceased to exist when Trump began his rule. So the only government left to shut down is the government of Trump and the new GOP, and if that falters we’re not losing too much. After all, most federal agencies that were created for the health, safety and well-being of “the people” have already been gutted, so shutting down what’s left of Trump’s government isn’t much of an issue to most Americans. And Trump, whose “negotiating skills” rely on threats and intimidation, says that if the Democrats don’t bend to his will, he will retaliate by targeting more agencies and programs; those that he feels are particularly dear to Democrats.

Sounds more like the leader of one of the third-world “s–thole countries” (Trump’s words) that he denigrates rather than the leader of a free democracy.

For the first time in this national embarrassment that is the Trump administration, it seems the Democrats might actually have, for the time being, the upper hand. First because they are championing issues that the majority of Americans care deeply about, and second because the Republicans in Congress have no idea how to negotiate anything. They have been shamed into submission by Trump, and are clueless on how to work things out with the “other side of the aisle” without him. And they dare not make a move toward reconciliation without his blessing or they will suffer his wrath, poor babies.

While it is unfortunate but likely that the Democrats will eventually concede the issue for the good of the nation, it is a good omen for the party and all Americans that they have shown resolve in the face of relentless oppression. Personally, I hope they hold out till hell freezes over.

THOMAS BRENT

Struthers