**Ted Cruz and His Plot to Defund Obamacare: A Shutdown Story**
“It was not a smart play. It had no chance of success,” then-Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said about the GOP’s attempt to defund Obamacare.
Then-House Speaker John Boehner initially remarked that the GOP had “fought the good fight.” However, he later admitted the plan “never had a chance” and even called the Texas senator behind the effort “Lucifer in the flesh.”
This is how shutdowns generally unfold. The side seeking a concession fights what they view as “the good fight,” and then they ultimately give up when it becomes clear it is a losing battle. As McConnell has often said, shutdowns don’t work.
Perhaps this was the expectation among Democrats with the current shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson essentially predicted as much on Saturday, wagering that Democrats might back down after Tuesday’s elections.
Yet, a full month into the shutdown, it’s hard to see how Democrats can afford to give up now. The politics of this standoff have surprisingly worked in their favor, while Republicans seem to be struggling to find a way forward.
Much can change as some of the biggest impacts of the shutdown begin to hit this weekend and in the weeks ahead. But this is a very different kind of shutdown—one where it’s much tougher to envision an obvious political resolution.
Democrats appear to have relatively little incentive to back down, coupled with plenty of reasons to maintain their demands that Republicans come to the table on extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
Imagine a scenario where Democrats hold these apparent political advantages yet decide to throw in the towel anyway. It would not be difficult to foresee such a move reigniting backlash within the left.
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