1. United States
2. W.V.
3. Letter

I support the shutdown, because it’s the only way to expose how unserious the Republican Party has become about governing. Cut the crap and start negotiating in good faith. The Affordable Care Act was the compromise. Democrats wanted Medicare for All; Republicans wanted a free-market system that leaves the sick to die. Obama literally adopted a Heritage Foundation plan — the same model Romney used in Massachusetts — just to find middle ground. That’s what “compromise” looked like. And what did Republicans do? Spent the next fifteen years pretending their own plan was socialism, trying to repeal it again and again with no replacement plan because cruelty and chaos were always the point. Now here we are — same story. You could pass a clean budget today. You could protect health care, SNAP, and workers’ paychecks. Instead, you play political games and blame everyone else. West Virginians deserve better. Start negotiating in reality, not right-wing fantasyland.