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Gather round and let me tell you a fantastical tale of the past, when government shutdowns were highly unusual. They didn’t even occur until the 1980s, and none lasted for more than three days until 1995. We’re now in the sixth shutdown since the start of the Clinton administration. Today is the 23rd day since the government ran out of funding, still short of the 35-day record set during the first Trump presidency, and although there are sporadic signs of movement in Washington, this shutdown looks like it could go on for a very long time.

A closed government seems to suit Donald Trump just fi

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