What Were Democrats Thinking?  —  Back in September, when I was reporting an article on whether Democrats should shut down the government, I kept hearing the same warning from veterans of past shutdown fights: The president controls the bully pulpit.  He controls, to some degree …

As the Senate advances a plan to end the government shutdown, what happens now?  —  As the shutdown continued, the pieces were in place for Democrats stand firm in support of a popular cause.  Eight Senate Democrats folded anyway.  —  As the ongoing government shutdown was poised to begin …

Democrats Are So Angry, One Senator Faces Blowback From Her Daughter  —  Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire voted to move to end the shutdown.  But her daughter Stefany Shaheen, a congressional candidate in their state, sharply criticized the deal.  —  It's not great when your defiant kid says you are wrong.

A Quick Take on Team Cave's Big Win  —  I have what I suspect is a somewhat counterintuitive take on the deal Senate Democrats' Team Cave made with the Republican Senate caucus tonight.  This is an embarrassing deal, a deal to basically settle for nothing.  It's particularly galling since …

“It's complete BS”: Dems go ballistic over Senate shutdown deal  —  Democratic lawmakers and liberal grassroots groups erupted Sunday night as moderate Senate Democrats moved to cut a deal with Republicans that would put an end to the government shutdown.

The Shutdown Surrender  —  It makes perfect sense to me that the Senate Democrats caved last night and voted to end the government shutdown with only the vaguest of promises from Senate Republicans: I am a lifelong Washington Wizards fan.  I am accustomed to watching my team throw away a lead.

Supreme Court rejects long-shot effort to overturn same-sex marriage ruling  —  The court turned away an appeal filed by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky who was sued after refusing to issue a marriage license to a gay couple.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday turned away …