History is a great teacher, but if we aren't careful we learn the wrong lessons. I'm thinking this shutdown is different, so the comparison is likely flawed. Seems the country is in a very different situation, with a president that needs to learn about boundaries and the rule of law.

Either the trolls are out in force, Ms. Cox has an interestingly biased group of followers.

It's not weird, it's human. He's their leader, and therefore above above reproach. They are blind to it, either explaining it away or denying it's existence. Or, they simply accept it as part of the bargain for his "good things." It's why they're so angry when called racist, they know it's true.

I guess I need to add that pundits have to get out of a normal democracy mindset too.

It’s been a decade of democratic backsliding, and nearly a year of rapid descent. Writing as if it’s 2013 or 1995 is out of touch. Either ”I have my head in the sand” or “I like this but won’t say so directly.”

Senate Democrats are in an abusive relationship, and they're choice is to cave to the abuser instead of insisting on healthy boundaries. If they enforced healthy (for the country) boundaries, the abuser would be angry but would eventually learn Dems are not willing to be abused.

There are a lot of ways senate dems could have explained their reasons for caving, that might have been acceptable to voters. They didn't choose to do that, which says everything we need to know. "Can't fight Trump" is literally the stupidest reason.

It's within the capability of senators to speak up. Of all the excuses offered by the 8 cavers, and the rest, none has offered "we heard from constituents" or "we heard from workers". Even it were a lie, they could have said it.