and you always have to wonder do they want the deal more than the issue or the issue more than the deal? and that's what could ultimately destroy this. >> there you go, margaret. this is a new variable being sent out by the democrats. this wasn't the impasse we heard two weeks ago that they were stuck on. so in order to avoid whatever may happen this friday, why introduce this new variable? >> it's new in the context of the last, you know, since the last 30 five-day shutdown but it's certainly not new in the context of the overall debate that's been swirling for the last two years since president trump took office. and, you know, we haven't talked, alisyn, about the one other thing that's on everyone's mind, which is whether the president's going to declare a national emergency or executive of some kind. that's all wrapped up in the same thing. in the first shutdown, the 35-day shutdown these two things got interlinked. the continuing operations of the