Joe Scarborough: fund DC during gov't shutdown

MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough has a column in Politico in which he argues that while the federal government is shut down (going on four days), Washington, D.C., residents shouldn't have to "suffer":

“Keep the District open!” [D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes] Norton pleaded to a Democratic leadership team that is now falling in line behind President Barack Obama's all-or-nothing approach to the government shutdown.

Norton makes a good point. Just because "Washington" is broken doesn't mean the citizens of that city should suffer. Republicans and Democrats may never agree on the Affordable Care Act, but Capitol Hill insiders like Norton believe they could quickly come to an agreement on a D.C. spending measure. Democrats should not stand in the way of funding for the nation's capital any more than Republicans should've pursued a shutdown strategy in the first place. But politics remains the art of the possible, so let's encourage our elected officials to make deals where they can.

Full disclosure: I live in Washington, though I'm not a government worker.

@eScarry