Once again the Federal Government shuts down because Congress cannot agree a budget. Key departments continue, but non-essentials are stopped. The rest of the world is somewhat bemused by this, at least to the extent that it is even mildly interested. But it has happened before. And the U.S. is still there. Sooner or later it will be resolved for another short period and once again things like the National Parks will be open.
However this interesting piece of Washington theatre is worth thinking about for two reasons. First, this is not about a President facing a hostile Congress, because for the first time since 1929, the Republican party controls all three arms of government; the White House, the Senate and the House. It is about the seeming inability of the Republican party to get to grips with government. It is no excuse to complain that the President is a loose cannon, or unlike any previous incumbent. Had he not been these things he would not have been elected and Hilary would be in charge.
The second reason is this. The impact of Trump and why he will go down in history as one of the very few before and after Presidents, is that something has been revealed about the country which has always been there but which has been papered over for 150 years. There are two Americas. One which believes in strong central government with the federal authorities operating a European style of state management and raising taxes to pay for universal and compulsory programmes.
The other which believes that such a powerful and financially demanding government is anathema to everything America was founded to reform. This interpretation of what America is, believes that the individual States should take responsibility for almost everything except national defense and raise whatever taxes they need to pay for what they want. So some may have universal health care and others not, for example. The federal government should be only about foreign policy, national security, the military and the currency.
These two Americas now face each other down not entirely, but partly, geographically, but also within communities and families. The split also exists within the Republican party, hence a Republican majority is not quite what it seems. Between 1861 and 1865 a terrible Civil War was fought to resolve the issue. History tells us the war was about slavery. That was the excuse for the slaughter. It was actually about America. The Federalists won the titanic clash of arms. But the issue was not resolved. Neither is it likely to be. Perhaps it is the tension which drives America on. What Trump has done by his populism and nationalism is once more to bring it out into the open. In all its raw passion and simplistic character. It will be hard to shut it away again.
As one of his avid supporters in the Deep South put it, when asked about Trump’s horror language to describe African countries, re-affirmed her support for the President whom she regarded as courageous and plain speaking ‘he says what half America thinks‘. The critical word was half.