I don't think it's just a distraction, it's also a goal in its own right. The Republican Party has increasingly been opposed to the very idea of government (much less democracy). Government is useful to the extent it can enable looting of the economy for wealthy interests, but it's best if it doesn't do anything else. In addition, you have the bleeding edge of the far right (with its most infamous example being Steve Bannon) who openly want to burn the whole thing down.
The longer this shutdown goes on, the better from their point of view. There are probably enough GOP Senators who want to be reelected (to keep the graft going; not to actually do anything) and realize their voters won't take it. They'll end it at some point. But the damage done in the meantime is not a distraction--it's the whole point. Like everything else happening right now, even getting some responsible beige technocrats back in power dedicated full time to fixing the damage will take decades. And we don't have decades.
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