There will be plenty of collateral damage from the government shutdown that began early Tuesday — from federal workers to ordinary citizens — but the most serious effects are likely to be felt inside a Republican Party that appears divided and in need of leadership.
Day One of the shutdown produced, if anything, a hardening of lines rather than any signs of rapprochement between the two warring parties.
If anyone thought that touching a hot stove would force politicians to recoil and retreat, that didn't happen in the opening hours of this next phase of the battle. Instead, politicians from both sides emerged appearing emboldened and with a similar message: The fault lies elsewhere for the disruptions that the closures will produce.
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