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It is said that everyone’s a critic.
But when it comes to the government shutdown, everyone’s an oracle.
Especially when trying to determine when it might end.
“[Democrats] are waiting to elect [Zohran] Mamdani, the communist, soon-to-be mayor of New York. And then I believe things will go back into business as normal,” said Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on FOX Business. “If we don’t reopen this week, then I believe it’ll happen at some time shortly before Thanksgiving.”
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Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., also offered her own prediction.
“I believe that this week could be the week,” said Capito on FOX Business.
But Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, wasn’t so sure.
“I don’t know what the predictions are based on,” said Cornyn on Fox. “We keep looking for some rational behavior on the part of the Democrats who shut down the government. But it was a dumb idea to start with. And it hasn’t gotten any better since.”
Everyone is now searching for a flicker of hope. A glimmer of reason as to why the government shutdown won’t deepen.
But all this week represents is another opportunity. There have been multiple inflection points along the way, but nothing has quite yielded the same opportunity to end the shutdown as this week.
Yes, emergency food aid for the nation’s neediest expired on Saturday. Air traffic is growing worse by the hour. Healthcare premiums formally spiked on Saturday – which is why Democrats balked at funding the government in the first place.
But none of those developments have truly forced the sides back to the negotiating table. That’s why some have settled on Tuesday’s elections as a potential turning point.
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Mamdani is the odds-on favorite to become the next mayor of New York City. Republicans are now projecting that the election is why the Democrats haven’t folded on government funding. They believe that certain election results – a win by the progressive Mamdani in New York coupled with what Republicans hope are losses by the moderate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., running for Virginia governor and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., running for New Jersey governor – will prod Democrats into action. Republicans believe such results will compel Democrats to see their party as out of touch.
“I hope the election tomorrow is a change. A sea change in all this,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “I hope that after everybody votes and they go in their room and they make the calculation that, well, ‘maybe, maybe we won’t have to hold that line anymore.’”
Republicans know the shutdown will end eventually. But if it ends soon, they want to shape the narrative that “Democrats caved because of the election results.”
Consider that Republicans have been forecasting the shutdown’s end for five weeks now.
“The cracks started to appear in the Democrat base,” proclaimed Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on October 1.
Republicans believed Democrats would cave in a matter of days once the shutdown started.
It never happened.
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The GOP then argued that Democrats were merely holding out until the “No Kings” rallies on October 19 concluded — that Democrats would have “shown they were fighting” by then.
“They won’t be able to reopen the government until after that rally,” forecast Johnson on Fox on October 10.
There was nothing of the sort.
Then the GOP amended its argument that Democrats were on the verge of giving in because federal workers were missing paychecks. Especially air traffic controllers.
“We’re getting to where the consequences of this are very real,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Fox on October 23.
That theory also fizzled.
Republicans then pinned their hopes on the next missed paycheck, coupled with flight delays, expiring SNAP benefits, and spiking health premiums on November 1.
“The Democrats will collapse entirely,” predicted Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Fox over the weekend.
But nothing changed.
“We will not support a partisan, Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people,” proclaimed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “That’s been our position. Week after week after week – and it will continue to be our position.”
Say what you will about the Democrats’ strategy. But they haven’t folded.
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Keep in mind that Republicans have tried in vain to convince Senate Democrats since mid-September to accept a GOP spending plan which would only fund the government through November 21.
“It is now becoming close to a moot issue,” said Cornyn. “What are they going to do after, I don’t know.”
Thune proclaimed that the 21st is now a date which is “lost.”
Yours truly asked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., what was the “drop-dead date” for Republicans to make another play call.
“With November 21st out there, it’s not a lot [of] time to resolve differences,” replied Scalise.
There’s now chatter about Republicans crafting another short-term spending bill through January.
“The longer sort of runway, the better,” said Thune. “I’m certainly listening to our colleagues and trying to figure out kind of where that landing spot would be.”
But there’s no guarantee either chamber could pass such a measure — especially if Democrats’ core demands remain unaddressed.
In his daily prayer to open the Senate session, Senate Chaplain Barry Black implied that the lawmakers needed help solving the crisis – simply because they were no closer to a resolution than they were in late September.
“Inspire our lawmakers to unite in putting out the fire of this government shutdown that has already burned far more than anticipated,” prayed Black.
It’s too unpredictable to make a sound prediction about when the shutdown will end. But if you predict enough things, you’ll eventually get something right.
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So how about this prediction:
The shutdown will end.
Eventually.
And that’s truly the only safe prediction anyone can make right now.
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