Channel Your Anger

This will be Don and John's shutdown

It looks like we are in for a partial government shutdown.

In the last government funding showdown in the spring, Leader Chuck Schumer took a lot of grief from members of his own party for reluctantly supporting the Republicans’ continuing resolution to fund the government. I concurred with his judgment; that the country had just seen an electoral sea change and was still trying to get a read on Trump’s furious remaking of the government. Kicking the can down the road seemed to be the least harmful of a bunch of bad choices. It now feels like it was a last ditch effort at a sort of cross-partisan (not to say “bipartisan”) cooperation.

Then came the summer. In a previously adopted spending package (which required 60 votes to pass in the Senate) the Democrats had cooperated based on the package containing a number of programs Democrats deemed beneficial to the people. Trump thereafter demanded that Republicans use a rare procedure to “rescind” many of those programs. In the face of furious opposition, the compliant Republicans adopted a bill rescinding those same programs. Because the measure was labeled as a budgetary “reconciliation” bill, a simple majority was required for passage. Trump got his way, with a big assist from Majority Leader John Thune. The Democrats correctly felt as though they’d been stabbed in the back by the majority.

Why would the Democrats trust this Republican crew again?

Then also came Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, and its resulting cuts to Medicaid (which will also eventually lead to cuts in Medicare) and elimination of the ACA premium tax credit. What all that boils down to is the elimination of healthcare services for tens of millions of our poorer citizens, closure of many struggling rural hospitals and whopping increases in health insurance costs to millions.

Now that their “kick the can” time limit is expiring, the Republicans come to Schumer, again asking his assistance in another exercise in kicking the can. The Democrats have responded with a simple and resonant message: 1. restoration of at least a part of the devastating healthcare cuts and 2. commit that the Republicans will not pull the spending rug from under the Democrats again.

The requests are reasonable and measured. Although volumes could be written documenting the legitimate grievances of the people against what Trump, his people and Congressional Republicans have done, the Dems have adopted a fair and limited approach. It is worthy of support.

It looks like the Senate Democrats may be re-growing their spines. It is refreshing to see them finally taking a tough stand against Trump and Thune, and they deserve our support.

Any forthcoming shutdown will be a source of frustration and anger with a lot of people. Donald Trump and John Thune caused that shutdown. They will own it.