Alex Shephard, The New Republic
Only four months ago, the idea of shutting the government down to demand a deal on immigration was on the fringes of the Democratic Party. Many immigration activists wanted to tie protections for the so-called DREAMers—the 800,000 undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children—to must-pass budget deals, but they really only had the support of backbenchers in the House. But last week, when an immigration deal failed to materialize, the vast majority of Democrats in the Senate stood firm and blocked legislation to keep the government open for business.
Source: Real Clear Politics