John Thune: “we are 37 days into an entirely avoidable government shutdown. I say ``avoidable'' because it was. Democrats instigated…”

“we are 37 days into an entirely avoidable government shutdown. I say ``avoidable'' because it was. Democrats instigated this shutdown by rejecting a clean, nonpartisan funding resolution. Republicans weren't asking them to swallow a bunch of new conservative policies. There isn't a single partisan policy in the bill. Yet Democrats couldn't bring themselves to take yes for an answer. Democrats, of course, have claimed their decision to shut down the government is about healthcare. They want Republicans to bail out their ObamaCare mess. And as I have said probably 1,000 times now, Republicans are 100 percent willing to sit down and talk about the mess that Democrats have created. We are just not going to have that conversation while Democrats are holding the Federal Government hostage. That was our position in September; that was our position in October; and, yes, it is still our position in November. We are just waiting for Democrats to take yes for an answer. I do know that Democrats have been under a lot of pressure from the far left. The far left pushed them to shut down the government, and the far left has pushed them to keep it shut down. As one House Democrat told Axios yesterday, ``There would be hell to pay if Senate Democrats don't let events play out.'' ``There would be hell to pay if Senate Democrats don't let events play out''--that quote from a House Democrat just yesterday. Well, what events need to play out?…”