The government shutdown is barreling towards November 1st when funding begins to lapse on some key government benefit programs.

And both parties are watching key off-year races happening next week.

Here to help us break it all down, we are joined by Brooks and Capehart.

That's New York Times columnist David Brooks and Jonathan K. Hart of MSNBC.

Happy Halloween to you both.

Thank you. No representation, no costumes, no orange, no nothing, no pumpkins.

We do not believe. We were dressed as pundits.

Yes, exactly. Two judges today, Jonathan, said that the administration has to use this reserve fund to pay for SNAP benefits,

which, to back up a little bit, SNAP benefits and the expiration of those benefits

was one of the ways the GOP was trying to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown.

Do you think this ruling, these rulings, takes any pressure off of them to, and then maybe

the shutdown does come to an end?

I don't think these rulings take any pressure off Democrats for two reasons.

One, I've always believed that tomorrow, November 1st, was one of the dates that the Democrats

were looking at.

That's a date when people start getting the open enrollment starts and they start to find

out how much their premiums are going to cost.

This is what Democrats have been talking about for a few months now and why they won't provide

the votes.

These are the subsidies for Obamacare that will now go through the roof.

Right.

And so that's why they're not providing the votes for, to reopen the government.

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