That's fitting for the times, and it suggests a leader looking for a resolution.

President Trump is staying put in snowy Washington while his government shutdown duel with Democrats continues, canceling every fancy trip out (that doesn't include a non-touristy one to the Texas border ), including even a Christmas trip to his home in Florida .

But then there are...the Democrats.

A whole slew of them packed off to Puerto Rico for a junket, getting hold of those hard-to-get Hamilton tickets (no shutout there); bunking in with 109 K Street lobbyists in $429-a-night hotel rooms; and, sure enough, partying hearty. WashEx's Paul Bedard has the opening story.

Some 30 Democratic lawmakers left the government shutdown behind Friday on a chartered flight to Puerto Rico for a winter retreat with 109 lobbyists and corporate executives during which they planned to see the hit Broadway show "Hamilton" and attend three parties including one with the show's cast. Those attending the Congressional Hispanic Caucus BOLD PAC winter retreat in San Juan planned to meet with key officials to discuss the cleanup after Hurricane Maria at a roundtable Saturday. But the weekend is packed with free time for the members and their families on the trip.

Get a load of the bikini shot of Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, spotted by Fox News producer David McAlpine (and Bedard):

Spotted: Sen. Bob Menendez on the beach at a resort in Puerto Rico on Day 22 of the partial government shutdown. Reports say dozens of Dems are in PR for the CHC BOLD PAC winter retreat — including meetings on Maria cleanup, and a party with PR’s “Hamilton” cast. pic.twitter.com/6FaBYKPo4L — David McAlpine (@DavidMcAlpine) January 12, 2019

“Dems in Puerto Rico as Shutdown hits day 24.” @foxandfriends — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2019

And yes, it's being noticed.

With President Trump still waiting for them to get done with their resort junket, now it's spin control time. The Hill seems to be the willing agent, re-casting the whole party-hearty affair as actually being about "helping" Puerto Rico, because some (definitely not all) of the participants are Hispanic at the get-more-Hispanics-elected titular event, writing:

The 30-plus member delegation is in Puerto Rico for the Bold PAC convention and a summit hosted by the Latino Victory Fund, a progressive organization dedicated to increasing Hispanic political participation. Rep. Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Bold PAC's chairman, told The Hill he chose Puerto Rico for this year's convention to showcase the island's needs as it slowly recovers from 2017's Hurricane Maria.

So more than a year has passed since Hurricane Maria hit the island, and these guys are now suddenly interested in "helping"? They couldn't have done that more than a year earlier, when the help was most needed? And the news of corruption and incompetence, of food and water rotting on the docks undelivered, and assorted chiseling from the local officials, which has rolled out since, never happened?

Oh, give us a break. Three kinds of narrative spinning here – one to claim that Democrats are there to "work"; another to claim they are there to "help"; and a third to bring up the old dead cat that President Trump (and Congress) never "helped" the island, which, by the way, was an economic shambles before the hurricane, owing to Democrat-style spending policies. Every last bit of it is highly questionable.

Now the networks are focusing like a laser on the hardships of government workers not being paid during the shutdown, President Trump is back in Washington waiting for these Democrats to finish their party at the Puerto Rican resort in order to return to negotiations, and these guys think they are reclaiming the "narrative"?

They really think they can get away with this and win.

These guys aren't serious. They just want to party, digging into the fleshpots, trying to blame Trump. Any questions as to why the public doesn't trust Democratic politicians?

Image credit: Twitter screen grab from David McAlpine of Fox News's tweet.