POLITICO Massachusetts Playbook: Talk of the town (hall)
By Kelly Garrity SHUTDOWN SCARIES — There was a moment midway through House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark’s town hall in Waltham over the weekend when frustration bubbled over. “It’s not enough!” people shouted as someone in the crowd of anxious constituents waved a sign featuring a request: “Try doing something.” Democrats in Congress have struggled to shake the notion that they’re not doing enough — or at least something , as Saturday’s sign-waver noted — to keep President Donald Trump and his newly created Department of Government Efficiency in check. Now, with Congress barreling toward a potential government shutdown Friday, Democrats are weighing a tough calculus: whether to lend Republicans enough votes to keep most government operations from grinding to a halt — or risk a shutdown until they can extract some concessions from the ruling party. Narrowly avoiding a shutdown has become a regularity in Washington in recent ye...