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Triggering re-election can be a motivation for causing a long shutdown. Falling back to sensible defaults is good enough.

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No, this doesn't work either. You need a threat to get people to talk to each other and resolve issues, otherwise dissenters will just happily continue dissenting, riding on the "defaults". Usually the threat of starving an entire country is enough to get people to act, but this is a special time with special people.

The entire country will not starve because of a government shutdown.

What's real special is that this shutdown could be ended in an instant by giving one minor concession and one side really doesn't want to do it, for mostly symbolic reasons.

I honestly do not know which side you are referring to as your statement could apply to either and be true.

I carefully worded it so I would not get downvoted to hell. But some people will know what I’m talking about.

The problem is both sides will have to give a little. If anybody just caves it'll be political suicide for them.

Caving used to be called compromise. The current political environment doesn't allow for compromise or changing your mind in light of new, better information. In science that would be the standard. In politics that's called "flip-flopping".

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