More than a month into the government shutdown, there is no end in sight — but expectations are rampant

It is said that everyone is a critic.

But when it comes to government shutdowns, everyone’s a fortune teller.

Especially when trying to determine when it might end.

“[Democrats] They are waiting to be elected [Zohran] Mamdani, the communist, soon-to-be mayor of New York. “And then I think it’s going to go back to business as usual. If we don’t reopen this week, I think that will happen sometime shortly before Thanksgiving,” Rep. Nancy Mace said on FOX Business.

Knowledge of the government shutdown: Exploiting its potential end

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, D-West Virginia, also offered her own predictions.

“I think this week could be the week,” Capito said on FOX Business.

But Sen. John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t know what the expectations were based on,” Cornyn told Fox. “We keep looking for some rational behavior on the part of the Democrats who shut down the government. But it was a stupid idea to begin with. And things haven’t gotten any better since then.”

Everyone is now looking for a glimmer of hope. A glimmer of why the government shutdown isn’t getting worse.

But all this week represents is another opportunity. There have been multiple inflection points along the way, but none have yielded the same opportunity to end the lockdown as they did this week.

Yes, emergency food aid for the country’s neediest people expired on Saturday. Air traffic is getting worse every hour. Health care premiums officially rose on Saturday — which is why Democrats refused to fund the government in the first place.

But none of these developments succeeded in forcing the two parties to return to the negotiating table. That’s why some have settled on Tuesday’s election as a potential turning point.

Closing that can be seen from the pulpit: moving along the pavilion and praying

Mamdani is the front-runner to become New York City’s next mayor. Republicans now speculate that the election is the reason Democrats won’t back down on government funding. They believe that certain election results — progressive Mamdani’s win in New York coupled with what Republicans hope will be losses for moderate former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who is running for governor of Virginia and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., who is running for governor of New Jersey — will prompt Democrats to act. Republicans believe such results will force Democrats to consider their party out of touch with reality.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, said: “I hope that the election tomorrow will be a change. A radical change in all of this.” “I hope that after everyone votes and goes to their room and does the math, well, maybe, maybe we won’t have to toe that line anymore.”

Republicans know the shutdown will eventually end. But if it ends soon, they want to shape the narrative that “Democrats gave up because of the election results.”

Consider that Republicans have been anticipating the end of the shutdown for five weeks now.

“Cracks are starting to appear in the Democratic base,” Wyoming Senator John Barrasso declared on October 1.

Republicans believed Democrats would capitulate within days once the shutdown began.

It never happened.

Senate Republicans are planning a long-term funding bill as the government shutdown continues

The GOP then argued that Democrats were only holding out until the “No Kings” rallies ended on October 19 — and that Democrats would “show they are fighting” by then.

“They won’t be able to reopen the government until after this rally,” Johnson predicted on Fox on October 10.

There was no such thing.

The GOP then modified its argument that Democrats were about to give up because federal workers were missing out on paychecks. Especially air traffic controllers.

“We’ve gotten to where the consequences of this are very real,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Fox on October 23.

This theory also failed.

Republicans then pinned their hopes on the next missing paycheck, along with flight delays, the expiration of SNAP benefits, and higher health insurance premiums on Nov. 1.

“Democrats are going to completely collapse,” Sen. Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, predicted on Fox over the weekend.

But nothing has changed.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., declared: “We will not support a partisan GOP spending bill that continues to destroy health care for the American people.” “That has been our position. Week after week after week, and that will continue to be our position.”

Say what you will about the Democrats’ strategy. But they didn’t fold.

Trump’s ‘nuclear’ request does not reach Senate Republicans amid shutdown

Keep in mind that Republicans have tried in vain to convince Senate Democrats since mid-September to accept a GOP spending plan that would fund the government only through November 21.

“It’s now on the verge of being a controversial issue,” Cornyn said. “What they will do next, I don’t know.”

Thon declared that the 21st was now a “lost” date.

I actually asked House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., about the “deadline” Republicans have set for another call.

“Coming into November 21, there’s not much [of] “It’s time to resolve differences,” Scalise replied.

There is now talk of Republicans crafting another short-term spending bill until January.

“The longer the runway, the better,” Thon said. “I’m definitely listening to our teammates and trying to figure out where to land.”

But there is no guarantee that either chamber can pass such a measure — especially if Democrats’ core demands remain unaddressed.

In his daily prayer to open the Senate session, Senate Chaplain Barry Black implied that lawmakers needed help resolving the crisis – simply because they were no closer to a solution than they were in late September.

“Inspire our legislators to unite in dousing the fire of a government shutdown that has already ignited far more than expected,” Black prayed.

It is not possible to predict when the shutdown will end. But if you expect enough things, you will eventually get something right.

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How about this expectation?

The lockdown will end.

recently.

This is really the only safe prediction anyone can make right now.