We’ve reached day two of the first government shutdown since 2019. It’s the fourth shutdown since the 2013 showdown between Barack Obama and the “Wacko Birds” in Congress.

I remember asking a senior Senate staffer who championed the 2013 tactics what the plan was now that the shutdown had begun. His answer was blunt: “There is none!” It was the first shutdown in decades, and Republicans had no idea what to do next. “We’re basically the dog that caught the car,” he admitted.

Surrender, it seems, remains the Democrats’ only option. The dirty little secret in DC is that shutdowns don’t offer real off-ramps once they begin.

Now Democrats find themselves in the same position. And the early signs suggest they won’t have the stomach to take the pressure for long.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck

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