Well, there WAS that thing a couple of months ago where Kilmeade said the quiet part out loud, suggesting we should execute them.

Right, but the issue here is that nobody agrees on who is at fault. Nobody is given reason to change their minds, because it’s “the other side” causing it, regardless of which side they’re on. It’s a problem that is definitely affecting real people, but “we’re not the ones causing it” is an easy way to ignore responsibility.

That’s not to say the shutdown should end, or that it isn’t obvious that the administration isn’t willing to come to the table, but I don’t think I agree with your above point that there’s anything undeniable to be found.

You’re considering it from a partisan viewpoint. Future administrations would do better to add more robust protections against this form of political intervention. The DOJ should be independent, and welcome to investigate or charge any politicians they can make a case for, past or present, regardless of which colors are hanging in the halls of the great leader Trump Ballroom.

Nobody is seriously saying we should never prosecute a political opponent. They’re saying that political opponents shouldn’t be charged by partisan actors.

“Here’s an Onion article” isn’t a response to what I said. Most Americans also don’t like the situation we’re in. We agree with you on that point. But “I don’t like this version of events and you people are disgusting for letting it happen” is a pointless observation when nobody has laid out an actual plan that could change things more than what’s being done.

I ask again. What do you propose we should be doing instead?

And do what, exactly? Provide the exact excuse the federal government is posturing for, allowing them to justify the actions that our various local/state governments are fighting to show aren’t real? Should we start an insurrection, so that Trump can start gunning down citizens with impunity and incite even more dramatic acts of violence from his base?

Truly, what do you think Portlanders, as individuals or small groups, could be doing that would meaningfully prevent the administration from enacting their agenda? Portland isn’t on fire. Trump says it is. Should they burn it down to prove him wrong?