Morning Jolt: Are Democrats Certain They’re Going to Emerge Unscathed from a Shutdown?

Government shutdowns happen when one side is convinced they can't lose. They feel like almost all of the blame for the shutdown will end up assigned to the other political party, and that thus they can demand considerable concessions, because time is on their side.

The side that feels that way in these fights is usually the Democrats, and they have good reason to feel that way. Democrats "won" the government shutdown fights in the mid-1990s, and they would have won the one in 2013 if they hadn't followed the reopening of the government with the launch of Healthcare.gov, the highly-touted, extraordinarily expensive online platform to buy health insurance… that didn't work.

The reason Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer feels so confident is because he is convinced that the media will echo the narrative he prefers. That narrative is roughly, "caring, common-sense Democrats want to keep the government open, but the cruel, cold-hearted Republicans want to destroy the DACA program and deport all of these adorable moppets and inspiring high-school valedictorians."

Schumer is so confident, Democrats filibustered a continuing resolution that would ...

January 22 2018

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Are Democrats Certain They're Going to Emerge Unscathed from a Shutdown? Jim Geraghty Government shutdowns happen when one side is convinced they can't lose. They feel like almost all of the blame for the shutdown will end up assigned to the other political party, and that thus they can demand considerable concessions, because time is on their side. The side that feels that way in these fights is usually the Democrats, and they have good reason to feel that way. Democrats "won" the government shutdown fights in the mid-1990s, and they would have won the one in 2013 if they hadn't followed the reopening of the government with the launch of Healthcare.gov, the highly-touted, extraordinarily expensive online platform to buy health insurance… that didn't work. The reason Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer feels so confident is because he is convinced that the media will echo the narrative he prefers. That narrative is roughly, "caring, common-sense Democrats want to keep the government open, but the cruel, cold-hearted Republicans want to destroy the DACA program and deport all of these adorable moppets and inspiring high-school valedictorians." Schumer is so confident, Democrats filibustered a continuing resolution that would ... READ MORE A Family in History Jay Nordlinger Editor's Note: This is an expanded version of a piece we published in our January 22 issue. Ten years ago, at the home of Robert Agostinelli, the financier and National Review trustee, I met... Democrats Fear Debate about Dreamers Will Pivot to One on 'Chain Migration' John Fund Democrats Fear Debate about Dreamers Will Pivot to One on 'Chain Migration' ADVERTISEMENT Europe's Energy Crack-Up Rupert Darwall 'Drugs, human trafficking, weapons. Violent fundamentalism and Islamic terrorism." Was this President Trump talking about Africa at his recent White House meeting with congressional leaders?... Beware a Democratic 'Surrender' on the Wall Rich Lowry Luis Gutiérrez says he's willing to build the Wall himself if it helps the Dreamers, and Chuck Schumer put funding for the Wall on the table in his Friday meeting with Trump. There should be an... The Worst Presidents? Look at America's Run-up to the Civil War Jay Cost In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Princeton historian Sean Wilentz suggests that President Donald Trump is on track to rank among America's worst presidents. "Mr. Trump's first year... ADVERTISEMENT Northern Armageddon: The Battle of the Plains of Abraham and the Making of the American Revolution D. Peter MacLeod "Definitive . . . superb in its combination of individual perspective and strategic narrative . . . This book tells us – brilliantly – both how the battle was fought, and what it meant." - Eliot A. Cohen, author of Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles Along the Great Warpath that Made the American Way of War LEARN MORE Life in Bhutan March for Life ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.