Yesterday at midnight, Sen. Rand Paul (TP-Kentucky) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi created quite a bit of drama (https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/08/government-shutdown-dumbest-ever-400988).
Neither got what they wanted.
Federal employees couldn’t go to work for six hours, but they are diligently back at work now after Congress decided, after all, to keep the government working, for a few more weeks anyway.
Some 70 Democrats in the House voted with Republicans, even though the Dems lost out on helping the Dreamers.
And for a few desperate minutes, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s junior colleague from Kentucky had all the lights focused on him.
A former ophthalmologist with no clear vision for the future, Sen. Paul, a deficit hawk, was approached by associate solitary reporter Melissa Smith.
“Rand,” she began, “how's hangin'?”
“Melissa, I’m gonna start a new party, and it will be no surprise to you that I’m leaving the GOP and establishing the Tea Party, and Sarah Palin is right in there with me.”
“That’s Interesting, Rand, will you be running against Donald Trump in 2020?”
“I’ve already raised $40 million for my campaign, with the help of my close personal friends, Charles and David Koch.”
“And Sarah has agreed to be my running mate.”
Meanwhile at the White House, associate solitary reporter Johanna Jones was very busy.
Trump exploded at his communications director, Hope Hicks, for letting her judgment about now-fired Staff Secretary Rob Porter get in the way of her job because of her romantic attachment to him. At the same time, Trump deliberately showed no sympathy at all for Porter’s ex-wives.
Then his former campaign manager, and now Counselor, Kellyanne Conway, chastised him for favoring men over women.