Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They want us to be overwhelmed and exhausted. Focus. Resist. Oppose.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Republicans in disarray!

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Our job is not to persuade republicans but to defeat them.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

You are either for trump or for democracy. Pick one.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

Live so that if you miss a day of work people aren’t hoping you’re dead.

Consistently wrong since 2002

When you’re in more danger from the IDF than from Russian shelling, that’s really bad.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Jack Smith: “Why did you start campaigning in the middle of my investigation?!”

Let there be snark.

Fear or fury? The choice is ours.

Let’s bury these fuckers at the polls 2 years from now.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

I’m starting to think Jesus may have made a mistake saving people with no questions asked.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

White supremacy is terrorism.

“When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re gonna use it.”

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / The Cloture Vote Has Failed: The US Government Is Shutting Down!

The Cloture Vote Has Failed: The US Government Is Shutting Down!

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The cloture motion has failed on a vote of 50 for and 49 against. Senator McConnell just voted no. And has entered a vote to reconsider the vote. And he’s now reading from the White House Press Secretary’s Statement. Specifically the part about not negotiating the status of illegal immigrants. He’s trying to turn this all on the Democrats. Right now this is all for show and saving face ahead of whatever deal he and his caucus has to accept.

I’ll update below once Senator Schumer gets to speak.

We are now fully in shutdown.

Republican Senators Graham, Flake, Lee, and Paul voted no. Senator McConnell couldn’t even keep his own caucus together. It didn’t matter how the Democratic senators voted, the Republican votes simply weren’t there. Had this been done on a simple majority, rather than the cloture rules, it wouldn’t have mattered. Senator McConnell was unable to hold the Republican majority in the Senate – he simply didn’t have the votes.

The US government will shut down, minus services and personnel deemed essential, at midnight Eastern Standard Time.

Senator Schumer has informed his caucus to stay in DC and come to work in the Senate tomorrow. And Senator McConnell has indicated the Senate will remain open and working. I’ll update that as soon as it is reported, though the House has been notified by Speaker Ryan they have to stay in DC in order to work on a resolution through the weekend.

And, of course, the real impact of a US government shutdown:

Two sources close to the president, one a White House official and the other a longtime confidant, told The Daily Beast how excited he was for the event and relayed his growing concern that the potential failure to strike a deal to keep the federal government open could keep him from “my party,” as the president has said.

Should be interesting to see if the President flies to Palm Beach tomorrow for his anniversary gala or if he stays in DC in case he has to sign a CR over the weekend. I know which way I’d bet.

Finally, we have a couple of firsts:

  1. This is the first government shutdown under unified/one party control of Congress and the Presidency.
  2. This is the first government shutdown within the first calendar year of any administration.

The President, Senator McConnell, and Speaker Ryan have just set two new records!

Update at 12:24 AM EST

Senator Schumer is now speaking. He’s refuting Senator McConnell’s and the White House’s official statement. Here’s the live stream:

Reader Interactions

150Comments

  1. 1.

    dmsilev

    McConnell: “The people like veterans, opioid addicts, and children, all folks that we have no actual interest in helping, will suffer.”

  2. 2.

    Another Scott

    @dmsilev: He’s shameless. “We’ve done all we can to continue the normal operations of the federal government!!1” And he hasn’t burst into flames yet.

    There’s your proof that there is no God. :-/

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  4. 4.

    Yarrow

    McConnell says “The government may be heading into shutdown but the Senate isn’t shut down.” Guess he’ll tell them to stay.

  5. 5.

    Adam L Silverman

    This is the logical outcome of a decades worth of Senator McConnell as the leader of the Republican caucus in the Senate. Every rule bent or broken. Every norm violated. Every tradition ignored if not repudiated. And now he can’t handle the fact that he has to live with the nightmare reality he’s created.

  6. 6.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Jennifer Rubin @JRubinBlogger

    I don’t think Norway will take people from a country with a govt as dysfunctional as ours.

    5 replies 32 retweets 117 likes

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    ATTENTION DEMOCRATIC SENATORS: If any one of you walks up to Mitch McConnell right now and slap him in the face with a large wet fish, I will donate $$$ to your campaign.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    Snort. Schumer repeatedly mentions the name ‘Trunp’, which McConnell assiduously avoided using.

  9. 9.

    clay

    Shorter McConnell: WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THOSE POOR CHIP KIDS?!?

    Hey buddy, you could hold a CHIP vote right now that would pass. Who’s the one taking their insurance away, now?

  12. 12.

    seaboogie

    @Adam L Silverman: Hear, hear! And 2018 – as freaky and crazy as it is so far – is the year of mid-term elections, and many motivated new Dem candidates, especially women. Women’s march tomorrow.

  13. 13.

    Cheryl Rofer

    SO MUCH WINNING!

  17. 17.

    jl

    Schumer needs to keep better kayfabe. He’s enjoying this too much.
    Maybe he is trying to count how many Democratic Congressional seats he gets out of this shitshow.
    Discipline Chuck, discipline.

  19. 19.

    B.B.A.

    I think Carter had an appropriation lapse with a “unified” Democratic Congress, but it didn’t lead to an instant shutdown back then like it does now.

    On the state level, New York had a lapse without a shutdown last year. The budget passed before the first payroll of the fiscal year, so it was all good.

  20. 20.

    Jinchi

    Honest question. Is Trump stupid enough to fly down to Mar-a-Lago and party with his rich donors the day after the government shuts down? Or has Kelly bolted all the doors shut to keep him inside?

  22. 22.

    Yarrow

    WTF? Turtle is speaking again.

    Edit: Now McConnell is sounding angry. LOL. I think Schumer got to him.

  24. 24.

    Adam L Silverman

    Apparently Schumer put the border wall up in negotiations today. And the President still wouldn’t bite.

  26. 26.

    jl

    Might be a couple of people of good faith on the other side of aisle (for sake of argument, more than real evidence, but let’s hope). But they certainly don’t include Ryan or McConnell, which is a big problem.

  28. 28.

    patrick ii

    Am I wrong to be disappointed that Schumer entirely blamed Trump and not any of the republicans in the house and senate?

  29. 29.

    Yarrow

    Wow, McConnell looks rattled. I wasn’t really listening to Schumer. What did he say that rattled McConnell so much?

  31. 31.

    Rommie

    And they are really gambling that they can pin this on the Democrats. The game of chicken has started.

  33. 33.

    Adam L Silverman

    @jl: In this case it’s Senators Graham and Flake. The former had negotiated the deal. The latter had a promise from McConnell for a stand alone vote on the DACA fix in January. McConnell reneged on his promise. Flake is rightly pissed off.

  36. 36.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    Gotta love that Press Secretary statement. Sorry, GOP, this isn’t going to wash. “The buck stops here”. You own this, you demonizing demoaguges. You’re a disgrace as a political party and deserve to go into The dustbin of history where you belong.

  39. 39.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @dmsilev:
    Say it with me: #Trumpshutdown. Or #TrumpMcConnellRyanShutdown but that’s wordy. How about #GOPShitshow?

  41. 41.

    B.B.A.

    @Rommie: FTFNYT (as expected) and FTFAP (WTF guys?) have already reported it as Democrats blocking passage of the bill to keep the lights on.

  42. 42.

    Marcopolo

    So much Kabuki, so little time.

    Schumer putting all the blame on Trump was both strategic & delicious. Orange fukdotard is a twitter junkie and look at the #1 trending term on twitter: TrumpShutdown

  43. 43.

    jl

    When all he had to do was accomplish exactly nothing McConnell was reputed to be a legislative master. Now that he actually had to get something done, he looks like an inept legislative thug. And the trouble he has had keeping his caucus in line is consistent with being an inept thug.

  45. 45.

    Ken

    @Adam L Silverman: There’s still eleven days in January, so McConnell could still keep his promise. Not of his own volition, of course, but Schumer and Flake might include it in their list of required groveling.

  49. 49.

    Jinchi

    What really astounds me is how quickly people simply accepted that the government would be shutting down. Trump is president, Republicans run Congress, so of course they’ll try to blow the place up.

    I remember a lot more incredulity when the government shut down a few years back and doubt and worry over the repercussions.

  51. 51.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    I’m assuming the Postal Service will be affected by this shutdown? This might fuck with my Amazon orders. This is even worse news than when I heard Emoboy Prime might return.

    Oh and all the furloughed federal workers as well as the kids reliant on SCHIP. This truly sucks

  52. 52.

    jl

    @Marcopolo: As Adam noted, putting the blame on Trump was also the truth. The GOP was ready to do a deal, and thought they had one, and had exacted a public opinion win of some kind. But Trump is an ignorant and arrogant fool, and he kept blowing up the standard legislative Kabuki dance enough to disrupt things.

    Though, McConnell should take a lot of blame too. But for obvious reasons, Schumer didn’t mention McConnell’s dipshittery in the fiasco.

    But Trump might be so pissed by getting blamed for it, he might insist on administrating over a shutdown federal government the rest of his term. Certainly would be less work, a big plus in his book.

  55. 55.

    Marcopolo

    @jl: Whelp I despise McConnell with the heat of a thousand suns but remember every two years there’s another election and the R caucuses (both House & Senate) get another whackadoodle unit crazier. And no end in sight to that trend.

  57. 57.

    Punchy

    I dont think Mitch thought the Dems would stick to their guns. Im sure Fox News told him otherwise. As their only source of info, misunderstanding here was not surprising.

    The GOP is fucked.

  63. 63.

    LurkerNoLonger

    Sooo what happens now? Does the bargaining position of the Dems improve? I have heard there is a bipartisan DACA bill that could pass if put on the floor of the senate. That would be one hostage taken care of. Add SCHIP to a deal to reopen the government and that’s the ball game right?

  65. 65.

    Adam L Silverman

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?: Nope, the postal service will be open. Letters and packages will be delivered. Social security checks will go out. The IRS will process tax filings, though that will be slowed down. The VA will be open as that was a separate funding bill passed last year. They’re good through 2019. Though some veteran’s disability checks may be delayed. National Parks will stay open, but no personnel will report beyond a minimum needed for safety.

  66. 66.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    That’s good to hear. I just read an article about the shutdown and I read that the federal courts will have 3 weeks left of funding before closing. GOP master plan to avoid charges or nah?

  68. 68.

    Mike in NC

    OMG. Shutdown might mean Fat Bastard doesn’t get to play golf in the morning. Oh the humanity!

  73. 73.

    jl

    @LurkerNoLonger: Might be good time to contact Congress and let them know what you think, especially if you are in GOP territory.

    I think GOP was mistaken in thinking it would be easy to blame this on the Democrats. Partly because public associates ‘pointless federal shutdown because BS’ with ‘GOP’. But also because I do not think the GOP understands that the public has been more aware than usual of both CHIP and DACA, and CHIP renewal and DACA fix are both overwhelmingly popular.

    Ryan and McConnell, and their GOP flunkies doing the blame game act are just making fools of themselves and digging themselves a deep hole. Edit: for example, the GOP can’t just assume that calling Dreamer kids “people who came to this country illegally’ demagoguery will work, and it may well backfire badly, since people will understand how dishonest and slimy that BS is.

    I that is true, GOP will have to negotiate, sooner or later.

  74. 74.

    PeakVT

    All I’m getting is a video of old white guys standing around doing nothing. Somebody should start tonight’s bingo game already.

    Or is this not a feed from the local Moose Lodge?

  77. 77.

    Roger Moore

    @? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?:

    I just read an article about the shutdown and I read that the federal courts will have 3 weeks left of funding before closing. GOP master plan to avoid charges or nah?

    They’ll cave long before then. If the shutdown gets anywhere close to that long, McConnell will be out as Majority Leader.

  79. 79.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Yarrow:
    But Nick Mulvaney gave his word. Wouldn’t want the embarrassment of protesting veterans outside of National Parks. Trump would freak out and order a nuclear strike on Yellowstone.

  83. 83.

    Adam L Silverman

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: Yep. Moreover, this will screw with career progressions. Training is going to get cancelled, meaning individuals are going to miss things they have to have and that are hard to reroute them for. Maintenance on a lot of stuff will be put on hold. A lot of acquisitions stuff is getting bumped.

  84. 84.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Yarrow: Yes, but they’ve made a decisions to keep them open with skeleton personnel staffing and no amenities or servicing of them this time. They think this will be a PR win.

  85. 85.

    trollhattan

    O/T Speaking of monsters and the banality of evil, LVPD has issued a preliminary investigation report on Paddock and the concert slaughter, 81 pages worth if you’re up to it (photos yes, no gore). Along with the NRA’s Russia hijinks, they’re a big reason why we live where in a year one guy can purchase 55 rifles, 54 of which are military-derived semi-automatic convertible to full auto with a replacement stock. America, fuck yeah.

  86. 86.

    Marcopolo

    Anonymous sources at late night parties across CO have noted that the shutdown is playing well in their state. “Ain’t no federal narcs showing up now” was a refrain heard at numerous locales.

  87. 87.

    jl

    @?BillinGlendaleCA: I heard on the news this morning that even if the National Parks are open, many services will close.
    So, in Yosemite, there were preparations to roust the guests at the famous old hotels and send them packing, and the park ski slopes will close (when there is finally have enough snow for first time since Thanksgiving!) A shhitload of reservations and activities will be cancelled.

    A federal shutdown is inconvenient, infuriating and humiliating BS, even if the GOP has foisted so many on the country that they have come to resemble a familiar, but strange and dysfunctional cultural tradition by now.

  89. 89.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @?BillinGlendaleCA:
    That’s part of the joke.
    Just found this gem:

    Russian analyst urges nuclear attack on Yellowstone National Park and San Andreas fault line

    A Russian geopolitical analyst says the best way to attack the United States is to detonate nuclear weapons to trigger a supervolcano at Yellowstone National Park or along the San Andreas fault line on California’s coast.

    The president of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems based in Moscow, Konstantin Sivkov said in an article for a Russian trade newspaper on Wednesday, VPK News, that Russia needed to increase its military weapons and strategies against the “West” which was “moving to the borders or Russia”.

    He has a conspiracy theory that NATO – a political and military alliance which counts the US, UK, Canada and many countries in western Europe as members – was amassing strength against Russia and the only way to combat that problem was to attack America’s vulnerabilities to ensure a “complete destruction of the enemy”.
    “Geologists believe that the Yellowstone supervolcano could explode at any moment.

    There are signs of growing activity there. Therefore it suffices to push the relatively small, for example the impact of the munition megaton class to initiate an eruption. The consequences will be catastrophic for the United States – a country just disappears,” he said.

  90. 90.

    patrick II

    I am wondering if this isn’t really trumps first loss of anything that he can’t fix. He’s been bankrupted before but either cheated or took Russian money to get out of it. And he is always able to con his way out of taking responsibility. But the public humiliation of this is something that may be new to him. I’m wondering how he is going to take it. I’m wondering if we won’t need a veto-proof majority to ever get a bill passed.

  94. 94.

    jl

    National Parks remain open if you visit them like John Muir did: on your feet with a sleeping bag and tent slung over your shoulder and a few pounds of rolled oats, jerky, and dried fruit in a bag swinging from your belt.

  95. 95.

    Redshift

    @Yarrow:

    National Parks have closed during previous shutdowns.

    Yeah, but the GOP made a big stink last time about veterans not being able to go to the WWII Memorial because it was closed, and somewhat successfully blamed the Dems for it (because our media are stupid) even though there was no question the GOP caused the shutdown. So they made sure that weapon can’t get turned on them this time.

    Last I heard, however, they hadn’t started work on passing a bill so the military gets paid during the shutdown, which passed overwhelmingly the last time before the shutdown started. I don’t know if they’re just that incompetent, or if they’re deluded enough to think they can not do it and successfully blame the Dems for “hurting the military.”

  98. 98.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Redshift:

    I don’t know if they’re just that incompetent, or if they’re deluded enough to think they can not do it and successfully blame the Dems for “hurting the military.”

    Why not both?

  100. 100.

    SFAW

    @jl:

    and a few pounds of rolled oats and dried fruit in a bag swinging from your belt.

    Or, as efgoldman does, with an onion on your belt.

  104. 104.

    Redshift

    @LurkerNoLonger:

    Sooo what happens now? Does the bargaining position of the Dems improve? I have heard there is a bipartisan DACA bill that could pass if put on the floor of the senate. That would be one hostage taken care of. Add SCHIP to a deal to reopen the government and that’s the ball game right?

    From what I’ve read, both DACA and CHIP could pass both houses easily if they were brought to the floor. The only reason they haven’t is Republicans insistence on empowering their extremists by refusing to have a vote on anything that doesn’t have the support of a majority of Republicans. So both of these are pure hostage situations, especially since CHIP was a routine bipartisan vote until they blew it up, and DACA could have coasted indefinitely until Trump blew it up because white supremacy.

  105. 105.

    trollhattan

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Guessing similar to Adam Lanza we’ll never know because he aggressively covered his tracks. The search queries from his PC document that he considered other outdoor events and venues before settling on this one–horrors not visited on innocents elsewhere.

  106. 106.

    Steve in the ATL

    So, is the NLRB closed for business? Sure would hate to see a delay in processing all those Board charges against my company!

  108. 108.

    Marcopolo

    Okay folks I gotta great sign made and a March to make tomorrow so I’m going to bed. Y’all have a lovely morning.

  111. 111.

    Adam L Silverman

    @trollhattan: There is a person of interest they’re trying to find, it is not the girlfriend. She’s been cleared. As for the computers, my guess is the child porn on the one laptop is actually his brother’s, who was arrested shortly after the shooting on child porn charges. As to motive, depending on if they can find the person of interest and what they do or do not get from that person might get us some more info. Otherwise I think you’re right. This one is going to be a black box.

  112. 112.

    ? ?? Goku (aka The Hope of the Universe) ? ?

    @Adam L Silverman:
    Do you think he ever could have been redeemed? He had such a great concept, which was what inspired Kurt Busiek’s Secret Identity series.

  113. 113.

    Mike in NC

    Government shutdown should be just that. TOTAL SHUTDOWN: No mail delivery. No entitlement payments to the old people who voted for Trump. All Navy ships and subs return to port. Air Force grounded. Army and Marines stay in their barracks. No federal employees get paid, period. Close down the road Border Patrol, air traffic controllers, etc. etc.

  114. 114.

    Adam L Silverman

    The Senate has adjourned for the night, our long national nightmare is over!

    They reconvene at noon.

  117. 117.

    Yarrow

    @Adam L Silverman: Will Trump fly to Mar-a-Lago or not? That’s the real question for tomorrow. Edit: Actually today, since it’s past midnight. Wonder what he’ll tweet in the a.m.

  120. 120.

    jl

    @patrick II:

    ” I am wondering if this isn’t really trumps first loss of anything that he can’t fix. ”

    The way Trump fixes this is to completely STFU about it and sign whatever Congress throws on his desk. But then, that is exactly what Trump promised to do at the televised dog and pony show with Congressional leaders that was supposed to demonstrate that he was not an ignorant childish fool, as portrayed Wolff’s book. We saw how long that grown-up Trump lasted.

    So, dig in, everyone. Might be long and messy.

  121. 121.

    Yarrow

    @trollhattan: I wonder if that would be allowed? Can the President of the United States just pay for his own plane or buy a ticket on a commercial flight and fly that way? Isn’t there a requirement to fly on Air Force One?

  123. 123.

    Adam L Silverman

    Alright folks, I’m going to go rub some doggie bellies and then rack out. You all have a great night. If Congress comes back into session and does something really stupid, I’m sure someone else will put up a post.

  124. 124.

    Yutsano

    @Mike in NC:

    No federal employees get paid, period.

    That part is, at least, true. The essential federal workforce is now the biggest force of unpaid labour in the country. And despite past performance, no guarantee they will get backpay.

  125. 125.

    Dog Dawg Damn

    St. Bernard will surely be primarying the Senators who voted for the provision. All 5 of them. Shouldn’t be hard for an omnipresent asshole like him.

  126. 126.

    Gaffer

    I so love this. The federal government of the United States of America is shutting down, and my favorite political blog is headlining Coles calendar crisis. Nice. Way to be in the right place at the right time.

  127. 127.

    The Dangerman

    @Yarrow:

    Will Trump fly to Mar-a-Lago or not?

    He’s either flying to Florida or they are sending in Pornstar Team 6 to keep him from getting into more trouble.

  132. 132.

    Zach

    Man, Democrats can’t have nice things. Flipping the 50/49 vote in the other direction would’ve changed the narrative to their advantage. Instead a handful of conservatives vote for a bill I’m pretty sure they agree sucks and has no chance to pass because they’re worried it’ll come up in campaign ads.

  135. 135.

    JohnO

    Last year’s WM organizers were expecting 50-60K in Chicago and got 250K. My 76 year old mother, who is the very essence of non-confrontation and benefit-of-doubt-giving and other-life-having will be attending for her second straight year. She’s going with a union activist sis and me.

    The Boy King sure has radicalized a lot of people.

    Good weather for the second year in a row. What say ye, bigger, smaller, or about the same as last year? Gonna be interesting in any case…

  136. 136.

    Calouste

    I wonder if there is an African head of government sending a tweet to the shitgibbon that in their country the government is still open.

  138. 138.

    Mjaum

    Norway would like to point out that with a ruling coalition of four parties, and another seven or so represented in our Storting («grand lawgathering», more or less) our state does not shut down. Ever.

  139. 139.

    Frankensteinbeck

    McConnell can’t blame the Dems, and he knows it. It’s become a public assumption that Republicans are the shutdown folks. Even from the people who will never say out loud they blame the Republicans for anything. But he has to try.

    I think Trump will sign anything put in front of him, including a DACA extension. Nobody actually cares what bullshit he says, beyond him being a scapegoat.

    Together, I think this shutdown and the inability to pass a budget is Ryan and McConnell’s doing. They are extremists as big as anyone in their caucuses, Ryan a nutcase zealot and McConnell the Platonic ideal of being an Asshole. He’s corrupt, mean as shit, and can’t let go of his fury a black man was ever his boss. They had no intention of passing any deal anyone else came up with. Schumer has probably known all along, but is combining hoisting them on their own petard and tying them to the wildly unpopular Trump.

    @Zach:
    It’ll be fine. Hardly anyone counts numbers like that. ‘The government shut down, the stuff being argued over is stuff I support, and Republicans are the people who do government shut downs’ is what filters through to the vast majority of even politically tuned in folks.

    @JohnO:
    I would like to be wrong, but I don’t think the marches will be as big. On the other hand, I think they won’t be as big because a whole lot of those women got serious about election activism and marches are small potatoes to them now. I’ll take that trade any day of the week.

  140. 140.

    ThresherK

    @Mjaum: I’m a tad jealous. No cite, but I remember a poll which had a non-trivial number of Americans say “True” to the statement

    The US Constitution limits the number of political parties to two.

    Also, I read a comic called Scandinavia and The World. Is it something Scandinavians consider accurate and funny, or a bit of embarrassing?

  142. 142.

    Ryan

    Isn’t constantly referring to the DACA issue as illegal immigration going to make it that much harder for the Republicans to surmount this impasse? How do they plan to walk that talk back?

  143. 143.

    Mary G

    @Frankensteinbeck: I would add Kelly to the list of guilty parties. He’s been calling congress critters and as the person who has control of who gets into the Oval Office had to be in on the plot that had the crazed Cotton, Perdue, and Goodlatt in before the meeting that was supposed to be with only Durban and Graham. The nut jobs got Twitler all riled up, leading to the shithole explosion.

  144. 144.

    ThresherK

    @Mjaum: Well, I’m American and SATW’s USA character is pretty accurate on us, and insightful. Good to have varied, easy to read, takes on what folks abroad think of us.

    The explainers help me get many of the entries.

  145. 145.

    Zinsky

    That so-called “press release” from the White House was the most venal and infantile piece of trash writing that I have seen come out of a government agency in my lifetime and I have been on this earth for 60 years. Do they have a bunch of 8th grade boys writing these things or what? I’m surprised they didn’t write, “Nyah, nyah boo boo, Democrats have poopie pants” at the end. Pathetic. These sickening bed-wetters need a beat-down of epic proportions in November and I plan to work like Hell to give them one!

  147. 147.

    The Simp in the Suit

    @patrick II:

    But the public humiliation of this is something that may be new to him.

    I doubt that it will ever, ever occur to him that he had anything to do with the shutdown. His brain doesn’t work like that.

  149. 149.

    Citizen Alan

    @ThresherK:

    I might well have answered true to that statement even though it’s not literally true. While there’s nothing inherent in the Constitution that guarantees a two-party system, when you read the Constitution holistically and apply a basic understanding of human nature, it’s pretty obvious that you’re going to end up with a two-party system.

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