Here's a sure-fire way to know when a right-wing pundit is spewing Trump's daily talking points badly. CNN host Kate Bolduan just had to tell Ben Ferguson he had no facts to back up what he was saying, and he backed down and admitted she was right.

What, you ask, was Ferguson going on about? He claimed, "Nancy Pelosi does have the votes to become Speaker as long as she doesn't do a deal [on immigration] before they vote on her."

This is the same line Mick Mulvaney spewed this morning, with a bit of a twist. Mulvaney said she didn't have the votes. She does. Ferguson knows she does, so he went on about how if she were to dare to do a deal "some Democrats" (whoever they are) wouldn't vote for her.

But it gets better, with Ferguson imagining that when Pelosi wins that squeaker of a vote (it won't be), everyone will come to the table, the heavens will open, and a choir of angels will sing the Hallelujah Chorus before Democrats fork over money for the wall.

Later in the segment, Ferguson tried again when Bolduan pinned him down on the ridiculous claim that Schumer wants a deal and Pelosi didn't. Instead of addressing her question about why they're talking about Pelosi and Schumer instead of the wall, Ferguson again resorted to the absurd theme o' the day.

why are they now making this about nancy pelosi and not about the wall? what does that tell you?

"I think you're talking about the government shutdown here," Ferguson answered. Actually, she was specifically asking about whether or not Trump is trying to drive a wedge between Pelosi and Schumer. Clearly Ben didn't have his listening ears on.

He continued, "I don't think the Democrats in the House are willing to do anything until after she has secured the speakership, because if she does come together with a deal with Schumer, and I think Schumer is probably one of those that understands the optics of this long term, you want to get the government open, especially when Democrats take control of the house, pretty quickly, but she understands she wants to be the speaker."

"And if she does a deal with Donald Trump, there are Democrats that will leave her and say this is exactly why we didn't want her to be Speaker -- she's already doing deals with Donald Trump," he added.

All of this is word salad right-wing talking points and they collapsed under Kate Bolduan's refusal to let him simply spew. She pointed out that this is not what is being reported at all, that Pelosi and Schumer are speaking with one voice, there is no daylight between them, at which point Ferguson deflated.

Here's what's wrong with this: First, the Senate has already passed a clean continuing resolution with no wall funding. It did not go to Trump's desk for signature because Paul Ryan is a coward who wouldn't bring it to the floor for a vote. After January 3rd, the House will pass a mirror of that resolution and send it back to the Senate where it will either receive a voice vote or else every Republican Senator up for election in 2020 who balks will be at risk of losing, and losing badly. At that point it will go to Donald Trump's desk, and he can choose to sign it or veto it.

And always, throughout all of this, it is the Trump shutdown which he owns today, yesterday, and tomorrow and forever. The beauty of this segment isn't the substance as much as it is the joy of watching Kate Bolduan shoot arrows in the talking points and watching them wilt like spinach in boiling water.