Free Republic

Significant milestones over the next few weeks could shuffle the status quo. For now, both sides remain dug in as the closure heads into a fifth week.Senate Republicans were confident that the call on Monday from the largest federal employees union for an end to the government shutdown would finally nudge labor-allied Senate Democrats to move toward resolving the stalemate entering its fifth week.Democrats were instead mostly unmoved.Their bet was that news on Wednesday of soaring health care premiums because of expiring Obamacare tax credits might finally persuade Republicans to negotiate on extending the subsidies. That didn’t pan out either;...

The Snapanese, a normally reliable Democratic constituency that depends on what the vernacular refers to as food stamps, may ‘Pearl Harbor’ progressives after their month-long recalcitrance on re-opening the government.The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides an average of more than $350 per recipient household a month. The welfare program pays for milk, eggs, apples, and other groceries at the supermarket, which frees up funds, for those so inclined, for scratch tickets, neck tattoos, and meth pipes. (RELATED: The Spectacle Ep. 292: SNAP, Riots, and the Price of Dependency)In the United States, the Snapanese outnumber Asians, LGBTQers, and Californians to...