The Patriot Post® · Tuesday Short Cuts

For the record: “Over in the department of futile and stupid gestures, the Senate on Monday voted 81-18 to end the government shutdown that Democrats had insisted on late last week. The politics apparently didn’t turn out to be the winner the Democrats anticipated, so they bailed out and called retreat a victory.” —The Wall Street Journal

Peer pressure: “I wouldn’t be surprised if [Chuck] Schumer privately thought the shutdown was a dangerous strategy, but was pushed into it by the hard left in his caucus and key interest groups that support the Democratic party.” —Brit Hume

D'oh! “[Dianne] Feinstein warned that a shutdown would literally kill people … and just voted to keep the shutdown going, for the second time.” —Guy Benson

Setting the bar really low: “The one thing I would say that [Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer] did get is the potential for momentum.” —Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Backfire: “Last week, I was moved to tears of joy when Democrats stood up and fought for progressive values and for Dreamers. Today, I am moved to tears of disappointment and anger that Democrats blinked.” —America’s Voice executive director Frank Sharry

Belly laugh of the week: “There is nothing so predictable as media spin in favor of Republicans.” —MSNBC’s Joy Reid

Media bias update: “During their morning and evening news shows from Jan. 19 through Jan. 22, the three broadcast networks covered the 2018 Women’s March nearly seven times more than the 2018 March for Life. ABC, CBS and NBC combined devoted 25 minutes, 24 seconds on the Women’s March, but just 3 minutes, 46 seconds on the pro-life rally.” —Newsbusters’ Katie Yoder

Race bait: “The president is a white supremacist. We heard in Charlottesville our president is a terrorist sympathizer, and our president is a clear and present danger to non-white people in America.” —MSNBC contributor Jason Johnson

And last… “The FBI can delete evidence of investigation bias, but try telling the IRS you ‘failed to preserve’ receipts for all your deductions.” —Twitter satirist @hale_razor