Controlling Party Shuts Down Its Own Government Three Times in Two Years

When Bill Clinton and Barack Obama were each serving as president, they had lengthy periods in which the opposition Republicans were in control of Congress, essentially creating a divided national government.  During both of these administrations, the government underwent temporary shutdowns when agreements could not be reached to fund the government because special conditions were placed for that funding on one side, creating a conflict.  Although this was not something folks in general would welcome, it is still understandable when you consider two opposing political philosophies clashing, each with its own power base in Washington.  But what about now: the Republican Party for the last two years has not had to share its power as it has controlled the Presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.  So will someone please explain to me why it's always the "fault" of the out-of-power Democrats whenever the Republicans get together and decide to shut down the federal government...THREE times now during this brief period? There is now only one thing preventing the ruling party from having complete control over lawmaking, and that is the 60-vote supermajority threshold in the Senate for ending debate (i.e., filibusters) before votes can be held on legislation.  Trump wants Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to arbitrarily do away with that condition and reduce that body to passing legislation on a simple majority vote basis, like they do in the House...effectively ending the opposition party's participation in the legislative process.  The problem with this is twofold: one, some day the Democrats will return to power in the Senate...maybe as soon as two years from now...and it will be they who will be able to ignore Republican objections to their proposed legislation.  And two, in only two weeks the next session of the House will be sworn into office, giving the Democrats majority control there...having a majority-rules Senate would mean nothing to McConnell's Senate Republicans for the next two years since they'll have no corresponding Republican-passed bills from the House of Representatives to consider. But what about the reason for this shutdown going on right now?

I happen to think that we should have something better on the border, and I'm not at all averse to Trump's wall idea, which he is insisting on before he'll agree to fund and reopen the federal government.  But the Democrats, during the previous shutdown, had actually agreed with the president to fund this wall but he backed out at the last minute, demanding more changes in immigration law.  So he's had his chance and he blew it...sounds to me likes it's all just a political game to him, not a matter of national security as it is to me and many of my fellow Americans.  And anyway, with Trump's kowtowing to Russian foreign policy after his unilateral declaration that he will just abandon Syria to them...and let ISIS be free to reorganize and strengthen...I am deeply concerned about his loyalties. Just what does Putin have on him...I wonder if this phony government shutdown is just a Trump tactic to misdirect attention from how he is currently wrecking our foreign policy...