“Senate pubs are caving is what it means. Why else would they meet on rat terms?”
I haven’t seen any indication that the pubs are caving. The fact that rat senators met with the pubs behind the back of the rat leader does not indicate pub weakness. Only a true pessimist could draw that conclusion.
As far as I can tell, Walker has the pubs standing strong. They know the whole nation is watching and the stakes are high. Keep in mind also that you would need 3 pub senators to cave, not just 1, to swing the majority vote to the rats. I could see 1 caving, but I don’t think 3 would be that spineless when we are obviously holding a winning hand.
You haven’t seen anything to indicate the pubs are caving? Just meeting with them privately, away from senate chambers is a capitulation. Who benefits by that meeting? The rats. The effort should be to force the rats to come back to the senate, not accommodate them by meeting elsewhere. That’s the only move that fills the pubs’ hand. Only a wishful thinker would believe otherwise.
As for the rest, holding a winning hand has never stopped the pubs from losing in the past. Never.