Did Democrats blow it on the government shut down?

There's a deal to reopen the government in the works.

And at least one Democratic senator says the whole resistance plan was a failure.

Never should have to happen.

What does Jordan Mamdani have to do with any of this?

That's what we're going to talk about today. Welcome to the Reason Roundtable. This is your Libertarian Review of News and Culture from the editors of Reason Magazine and sometimes friends. I am Peter Souterman. I'm your host, and today I'm joined by Matt Welch and Catherine Mangy Ward. Nick Gillespie just couldn't make it.

Nick, I want to ask you an opening question, but you're not there at all.

Okay.

All right.

So here is the debate amongst the Democrats.

They're kind of divided on this, right?

The shutdown was a product of interdemocratic,

factional squabble. And you've got Pennsylvania Senator John Federman. Again, I just wish Nick was here.

I want to ask him about his favorite Democrat, who says this whole thing was a failure.

It never should have happened. He's been against it this whole time. And then you've got Senator

Chris Murphy, who says the deal to reopen the government is a mistake that, quote, will make Trump stronger,

not weaker. Catherine Mangy Ward, which side do you fall on, if any?

I refuse to pick a side between those two people and you can't make me. The shutdown was a comedy

of errors. And as I have said on this podcast before,

it makes me absolutely furious to have been against a shutdown in any kind of way. I love it when

the government is in governmenting. And I did not love this one. And it was messy and gross.

And it is still messy and gross because we're going to have to do it all again in January, even if the shutdown really ends.

...