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There are moments in Washington when everyone knows how the story ends. This will happen, that will happen, a so-called twist gets thrown in just as predicted, and the reel ends as intended.

This is not one of those moments.

Careening toward a government shutdown at midnight tonight, the players involved all seem to be occupying different realities. The White House is puffing up its chest like an inevitable victor when the clock reaches Zero Hour. The Republicans in Congress think Democrats are destined to blink given the costs to constituents. The Democrats? They’re digging in, knowing their GOP brethren cannot get even a stopgap resolution across the fi

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