To have a win-win, you would have to negotiate. Which I only have seen one side willing to do right now.
At the end of the day, my main point was that we actually agree on this, that they could negotiate, they could agree on something like just the subsidies being extended, but not the rest, and both sides could feel like they won something in the compromise. Which is the goal of government in a lot of ways. Compromise and representing the most American's we can in the process. We have discussed before and you agreed with that. But then every time it is talked about, you then make it a democrat shutdown like you did in the post I was responding to.
Well, from my viewpoint, it's a federal government shutdown. Yes there should have been negotiation at the CR level before we got to this point. And, I'll violate the "whataboutism" that I don't like to do - but only as a rationalization, not as a belief - democrats have done exactly the same thing to republicans in the past and yes republicans have done the same thing to democrats. So both sides have used the same verbiage to blast each other. There is very little civility or comity in the Congress anymore at the political level. These guys have lunch with each other, laugh at each others jokes and go before the TV cameras and tell the American people that members of the other party can't be trusted. I used to lobby at the federal level, I've seen the game.
Right now each side believes they are winning the PR battle with the American people. When that changes, they will negotiate.
One thing that no one has discussed yet is the impact of the Trump voter on this issue. Trump won with votes from the "little guy", the working man. The elites, the masters degree holders have switched from Republican to democrats (Generalization, I know). It's the working man - the Trump voter - are the ones most likely to be impacted by a total end to the extended subsidies. That's why they won't stop. Republicans know it and democrats know it. That's why I've said this is a game. We all know the outcome especially because republicans have already said they intend to renew the subsidies (devil will be in the details).
If the Democrats trusted the Republicans -they don't - they'd just pass the CR and move on to negotiations on the subsidies. If the Republicans/democrats were smart they'd find a way to become "the bigger person" and find a way to open negotiations, letting the American people that they care about the military pay, the airline showdowns and the services important to the American people.
Now just to give my perspective again on why this is a democrat shutdown.
In DC everything is about votes. Right now, republicans have voted to pass the CR. Democrats have not. So, from a strictly vote perspective, the Democrats are the critical path. They hold the power. They have decided to vote 'No". so logically they are not funding the government because they vote "no" on funding the government.
Now I understand the other perspective, and in the past, as I said, republicans have used exactly the same verbiage when they held the government hostage as the Democrats are using now, and vice versa. One side does not have a lock on the "we need negotiation" demand. And I'm sure that democrat supporters know they have the power of the vote and see the critical path as negotiation.
Both sides are at fault, but we are in a who will "cave" first scenario.
sorry for the long post