She literally cites their reporting for her claims. Such a power move.

If Tuesday were Election Day instead of last Tuesday, probably the Dems do worse in VA and NJ. But coalitions are always shifting. This probably affects who wins primaries next year. And if this brings the House back into session, the next few months might just be about Epstein anyway. Who knows.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are about to ask a bunch of betrayed-feeling donors and activists to get excited in 2026 after they just disappointed them on this fight. I think that matters in that parties require public validators, and maybe fewer people will be willing speak up after Sunday than before.

But the six-or-seven weeks of shutdown have coalitional effects in that they make power flows more visible. For people who don't follow this closely, the spike in health premiums or rise in medical bankruptcies are going to be felt long after this fades from memory.

On health care, everyone is the same place would have been without a shutdown. The Big Beautiful Bill was going to make premiums rise and that's what is going to happen. At least now the federal workers and SNAP beneficiaries are going to get paid. That's not nothing.

Moments of conflict are really clarifying for making these sorts of relationships fully apparent.

Wild game to watch on TV.

I really wonder how American politics would change if parties could pass their priorities with a simple majority, one at a time.