If millions of people end up losing health insurance coverage, we’ll see soon enough whether Democrats were right to withhold their votes for funding the government.

As for the notion that the shutdown failed, let’s remember what actually happened: Five Democratic senators shifted their position — and 271 Republicans were forced to shift theirs. So, who exactly folded to whom?

Those five Democrats demanded — and won — not just a restart of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but an increase in its benefits. That’s something.

The shutdown also forced President Donald Trump to rehire the government employees he’d fired, and to grant back pay. One could argue it might have happened eventually, but Trump said the firings were part of his plan to shrink the government, and

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