A government shutdown is looming if Congress doesn’t get a budget deal passed and Republicans know that although they have been willing to negotiate in good faith, it is they, not the Democrats, who will be blamed for a shutdown. In this latest Mexican standoff, Democrats are demanding a deal (amnesty) on DACA be included in any budget deal, but the deal must also exclude any funding for the border wall.

Last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) sought to sabotage any potential progress toward a budget deal when he ran to reporters after a closed-door meeting to blast Donald Trump for allegedly using crass language. The stunt proved successful, giving the Leftmedia another faux controversy to exploit while continuing to aid Democrats in their anti-Trump resistance. Democrat duplicity and deceit knows no bounds.

The Democrats are angling for a government shutdown for purely political reasons, even while claiming to be seeking to keep programs such as the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funded — even after Republicans have been more than willing to reauthorize funding.

As The Wall Street Journal editorial board explains, “Democrats think a shutdown will improve their chances of retaking the House and Senate in November. Everything they do, every decision they make, is a political calculation with that in mind. Thus supposedly grave moral choices like children’s health care and legal status for immigrants are more important as political battering rams than as policy accomplishments. Dysfunction is desirable because Republicans are nominally in charge and will get the blame.”

So, if this standoff results in yet another government shutdown, the party to blame will be the Democrats, even as their cohorts in the mainstream media are already seeking to convince Americans otherwise. Talk about fake news.

Update: Last night, in a 230-197 vote, the House passed a short-term spending bill, which includes a six-year funding extension for CHIP. It does not include what Democrats have been demanding — a long-term deal on DACA. Senate Democrats have pledged to continue their stubborn resistance to any spending deal that doesn’t meet their demands for a DACA deal. They are choosing to hold hostage the needs of military personnel and their families for a few hundred thousand illegal aliens. They’re even willing to sacrifice their demands for funding CHIP. As House Speaker Paul Ryan pointedly stated, “I think it’s unconscionable that Democrats would walk away from CHIP, from funding our military, for something that is not a deadline.”

The Senate has until 11:59 Friday night to work out a spending deal to avoid a government shutdown.