Even before Congressional leaders went to the White House on Wednesday afternoon, there didn't seem to be any easy way to end the legislative standoff in Washington, D.C. that has resulted in a government shutdown. And when you talk to Republicans in the Congress, you get the feeling they don't know what the end game is either.
"Ask me in a week," said Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC).
"Not until all the guys above my pay grade can come around the table and make a deal," said a smiling Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK).
"We all want it to end as soon as possible," said Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA).
"I think this is resolved the moment the Senate, the President come to the table and negotiate," said Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH).
But as we saw Wednesday night at the White House, that isn't happening right now.
"The President reiterated one more time tonight that he will not negotiate," said Speaker John Boehner.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrats were frustrated, saying that Republicans had pulled the nation into this battle, but didn't seem to be able to get together to end the shutdown.
"Put the whole government back to work now!" said Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) on the House floor, as he skewered Republicans for coming up with different mini-funding bills in recent days instead of just passing a broader bill to re-open the government.
"What's next?" DeFazio asked. "This is Whack-a-mole."
"Millions of Americans have decided that you're doing the wrong thing in shutting down their government," said Rep. George Miller (D-CA).
"Enough! Speaker Boehner reopen this government," said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA).
"My friend John Boehner won't take 'Yes' for an answer," chided Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid after their White House meeting, as Reid said Boehner was being manipulated by Tea Party Republicans who don't want to solve this government shutdown.
"As Leader Reid said: “if they don’t take ‘yes’ for an answer,” then I can only conclude that they’ve wanted to shutdown government," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Off the House floor on Wednesday, there was a lot of talk about how to get out of this legislative morass; some said any deal had to have at least one significant provision dealing with the Obama health law.
Several members floated the idea of getting rid of the medical device tax, which has drawn bipartisan opposition, arguing there was no way Democrats were going to agree to a broader repeal or delay of the law.
The House on Wednesday approved two targeted funding bills for the national parks system and the National Institutes of Health; Thursday will bring votes on plans to fund the Veterans Administration and more.
But right now, that's not a path to a deal, as the bills may never see the light of day in the U.S. Senate.
As for the Senate, a group of Republicans met there on Tuesday afternoon with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), as GOP Senators lambasted their colleague, demanding to know how he wants to bring this legislative standoff to a finish.
One Senator who was in the meeting described it as "rough," saying that Cruz never answered the repeated questions of what he hoped to achieve.
And so, this shutdown is fully expected to continue - maybe right through the weekend.
Meanwhile, public open-air memorials remain 'closed' to the public in Washington, surrounded with temporary fencing and barricades.
As I drove home on Wednesday night, traffic slowed as we passed the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial. I glanced over at the memorial, swaddled in metal and wooden barricades, temporary fencing and police tape, and saw a woman standing there.
In one move, she pushed aside a metal barrier and walked right in to get a look at the newest memorial in D.C.
The government shutdown wasn't stopping her, even if it has stopped the federal government in its tracks.
