Trying to undo something already passed by Congress, Schumer & Co. were the ones standing against 'Representative Government
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Texas Insider Report) — By definition – and by all procedural realities – the side that votes not to keep government open is the one that is "shutting down the government." This is not complicated. On the other hand, a vote to fund and keep government operating is, yes, a vote to fund and keep government operating.
Every Republican in the House and Senate voted to do so – and to "keep government open." The votes against funding all came from Democrats. Republicans have been trying since Oct. 1st to keep the government open through what is known as a ‘clean’ Continuing Resolution – i.e., continuing on the exact same path of Current Government Spending Levels and Rules across all agencies, with no extraneous policy issues included, while negotiations continue.
Now that the government shutdown is almost over, can we stop pretending that it was a Republican shutdown?
For the past 42-odd days, Democrats and their Sock-Puppet Media partners have been running a gaslighting campaign on the pretense that the shutdown was Republicans’ doing. The campaign was, to a large degree, successful with the voting public – and transparently timed for the run-up to Election Day.
But it was always an obvious and odius lie.
Democrats were the ones making demands before they would agree to reopen the government; Republicans were demanding nothing and kept voting to reopen the government.
For the past 42-odd days, Democrats and their Sock-Puppet Media partners have been running a gaslighting campaign on the pretense that the shutdown was Republicans’ doing. The campaign was, to a large degree, successful with the voting public – and transparently timed for the run-up to Election Day.
But it was always an obvious and odius lie.
Democrats were the ones making demands before they would agree to reopen the government; Republicans were demanding nothing and kept voting to reopen the government.
The problem for Chuck Schumer and the Democrat’s "messaging" was that holding out for more Medicaid spending is the opposite of standing up for democracy. Rather than shutting down the government over unilateral executive actions, or presidential refusals to spend the money already authorized by Congress, Schumer & the Democrats have been trying to undo something already passed by a Congress.
In fact, the bill passed during the Biden Administration to subsidize American's healthcare costs during the COVID-19 crisis was a Democrat bill, it included an end date that has now been upon us, and they were the party that voted to have the COVID-19 healthcare subsidies eventually come to an end.
It was their idea, their legislation, and was passed with their own party's vote.
Minority Leader Schumer – as well as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on the House side – have been trying to use leverage to win a victory they didn’t have the votes to get. It completely contradicts the Democrats’ theme that they are the ones standing up for Congress and representative government.
Again, this is not complicated, nor is it Rocket Science.As former President Barack Obama himself once said, "Elections have consequences" – and, in our representative Democracy, Republicans beat Democrats in the 2024 Election.
This would mean that the actions and or efforts of those trying to thwart the initiative of the party in power after the last election – well, they are the ones standing against "representative government."
Mr. Schumer, his fellow Democrats, or the nation's now well-known liberal media can speak all they want, but so long as their demand or demands are contrary to Republicans and President Trump's wishes – i.e. for a continuation of the COVID-19 Era healthcare subsidies to be continued – today's voters are apt to see through all their lies, slogans, or arguments that they are the ones standing up for Democracy.
Why did a Handful of Senate Democrat Senators Finally Decide to End the Shutdown
Virginia's Democrat Senator Tim Kaine (right below,) who nearly a decade ago served as Hillary Clinton’s running mate when she lost the presidency to Donald Trump, was the 8th and final Democrat vote needed to reverse course and end the longest shutdown in American history.
Kaine’s top priority was to protect 1,000s of federal workers who live in Virginia that the Trump Administration was in the process of attempting to fire via "reductions in force" during the government closure.
To win over Kaine, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) needed to secure the White House’s backing on the language affecting federal workers.
“We spent the day working on that language,” Kaine said, referring to the frantic negotiations Sunday. “We reached a meeting of the minds at about 5:45” Sunday afternoon.
“We had a caucus meeting at 6 p.m., I walked in just with a deadpan face and they’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘We got the language we need,’” he said.
“We spent the day working on that language,” Kaine said, referring to the frantic negotiations Sunday. “We reached a meeting of the minds at about 5:45” Sunday afternoon.
“We had a caucus meeting at 6 p.m., I walked in just with a deadpan face and they’re like, ‘What’s going on?’ I said, ‘We got the language we need,’” he said.
Liberal groups are already vowing to primary Democrats who backed the bill, and it is possible very few House Democrats, if any, will back it.
Thune did promise a Senate vote on the healthcare subsidies issue as part of the package, but there’s no guarantee an extension will pass the Senate – or even be brought up in the House of Representatives for a vote.Abandoning Schumer’s Short-Sighted Strategy
As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s strategy of keeping the government shut down started to have real life impacts on their constituents, individual Democrat Senators began to see the error of their ways.
Reversal came together in the final hours of high-stakes negotiations.
Kaine said there “was a lot of resistance” from the White House to restoring the employees laid off during the shutdown, but Republicans eventually accepted the provisions he wanted in the bill, because “they needed my vote.”
Senate Democrat Whip Dick Durbin had been hearing from senior air traffic controllers at Chicago's O’Hare International Airport.
Durbin and other Democrats said they were worried about the pain their own government shutdown was causing.
“Part of it… I’m genuinely worried that we’re giving these air traffic controllers six 10-hour shifts each week. Some of them have gone to other leaders in that [air traffic control] tower and asked to be furloughed so they could go get a job to make some cash money to make the payments for their families.
"When these controllers are keeping airplanes safe in the air, I don’t want them worried about the paychecks and problems that they have at home,” Durbin said.
“Part of it… I’m genuinely worried that we’re giving these air traffic controllers six 10-hour shifts each week. Some of them have gone to other leaders in that [air traffic control] tower and asked to be furloughed so they could go get a job to make some cash money to make the payments for their families.
"When these controllers are keeping airplanes safe in the air, I don’t want them worried about the paychecks and problems that they have at home,” Durbin said.
He was also moved by the strong statements being issued by American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley, who on Oct. 27th urged Democrats to pass a clean Continuing Resolution to reopen the government.
“It was part of it,” Durbin said of the pressure – and the prospect of Democrats continuing to lose votes from the nation's largest Federal Employees Union.
Durbin told Senate Democratic colleagues at a closed-door meeting that he would vote to reopen the government because it’s “the right thing to do.”Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, used her longtime relationship with a fellow appropriator, Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, to work out the final version of minibus package funding Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and the Legislative Branch.
Shaheen, who will retire at the end of next year, was critical in bringing Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH,) her home-state colleague, into the group.
All of the Democrats voting to end the so-called "Shumer Shutdown" are senators who are either retiring, in the cases of Shaheen and Durbin, or who do not face voters again until 2028 or 2030.
All of the Democrats voting to end the so-called "Shumer Shutdown" are senators who are either retiring, in the cases of Shaheen and Durbin, or who do not face voters again until 2028 or 2030.
In addition to Hassan, Shaheen and King, the group also includes Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.).
SNAP’s Role in Democrat's Reversal
Hassan and other Democrats also said they had heard “repeatedly” from families in their home states “about the deep pain that the government shutdown was causing... families trying to buy groceries.”
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was providing assistance to law enforcement officials, air traffic controllers and other federal workers who were forced to work without pay during the shutdown.
“The SNAP issue is hugely important, and now we not only have it for the CR [continuing resolution], we’ve got it for the rest of the year at robust funding levels,” Kaine said.
The Democrats backing the deal also said they were feeling the daily pressure of having to watch Capitol Police officers, Senate staff and Capitol maintenance workers struggle with the burden of having to work for weeks without getting paid.
“I had a lot of Capitol Police officers look me in the eye … and say, ‘Thanks,’” Kaine said.
“I’m going to have a whole lot of federal employees who are going back to work, and they’re getting their paychecks and they can live through the holidays.”
