There have been a number of news stories in the past 24 hours about a government shutdown over border security. Although FreedomWorks doesn’t take positions on immigration issues, we do work on budget and appropriations issues. What Americans are hearing about the possibility of a government shutdown has not included any clarity on what that means.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

The federal government shutdown at midnight on Saturday because the Senate was not able to pass a spending deal. Both the House and Senate were in session on Saturday and Sunday. Members from both parties in both chambers spent time blaming each other for the shutdown. House and Senate Democrats also spent a lot of time on the floor blaming President Trump.

We’re just days away from the expiration of funding for the federal government running dry, and that event that is spoken about only in hushed tones of dread by the Washington establishment: a government shutdown. For those who regard the federal government as the provider of all that is good and noble in the world, whose Life-of-Julia worldviews require state intervention in all activities great and small, this represents an unthinkable tragedy. The rest of us tend not to really notice, except when the Feds go out of their way to prevent World War II veterans from visiting their own, open air memorial.

This morning, I walked through the rain to work. After arriving at the office, I proceeded to make myself a cup of coffee and log on to my computer.  The first thing I did was visit the Drudge Report to find out the big headline news today. What I found nearly made me throw my coffee at the computer screen. 

On today’s edition of the FreedomCast, Lachlan Markay joins me to discuss the shutdown theater: the selective closing of national monuments and park grounds, and why some websites such as Michelle Obama’s “Drink Up” campaign site were deemed essential during this partial shutdown, but others were not. 

America deserves a strong leader during the government shutdown, not one who merely allows us to stumble along, doing whatever we want in the middle of the greatest crisis of all time. President Obama should take the threat to his credibility seriously, and not allow Americans to lose sight of the central role of government in their lives.

It’s as if current events are working together to reform education, or, at the very least, to make it evident to all Americans why reform needs to happen. Between the current government shutdown and the looming debt ceiling, it’s becoming more evident every day that the safest place for education is as far away from the federal government as possible. 

Make no mistake, this is no longer a Washington where President Obama is always in charge. On Capitol Hill the man in charge is Harry Reid. No question about it. President Obama has handed over the reins of leadership on government funding and the debt limit to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Reid is now fully in charge of his party’s negotiating strategy, a significant change from past showdowns with Republicans.