Calls for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign from his leadership post escalated after the New Yorker led nine other members of the Democratic caucus in helping Republicans advance a GOP stopgap funding bill to a final vote.
I have no love for Schumer and would love to see him replaced, but to play devil’s advocate for a sec, isn’t shutting down the government what Trump and his cronies want? Say the government does shut down, what would prevent Republicans just leaving it shut down indefinitely until all the furloughed employees quit (the same people they’ve been trying to fire unsuccessfully)? Or passing bills to selectively fund only the programs they like while leaving the Dept of Education and others unfunded?
because in the longmedium term sooner than I imagine, those things are going to happen anyway. Presenting it as a choice between “saving (some) fed employees” vs “fucking them over” is disingenuous. The actual choice is between “ceding power and the news narrative” vs not. People are upset that the Dems keep doing this, despite the long history of “working across the aisle” not working.
To address your specific points: just because there are things the Republicans want, doesn’t mean they’re “good” for them (see: all? of their policies). In the case of federal employees, passing the “CR”* isn’t going to get them paid–the GOP doesn’t care what the laws say (obviously). The Dems should be obstructing other ridiculous funding bills as well, because the only thing they can do is be in the news cycle for obstruction (and then using that time to sell progressive policies that most people agree with). That’s the only leverage they have. This appeasement threw that away. The hive of scum and villainy is only going to continue their illegal cuts, and the correct response is to fight back, not to lend them more legitimacy. Dems have tried that for decades and this is what it’s gotten us.
*: it’s not really a “continuing” resolution, as it has a bunch of Trumpian garbage in it that wasn’t in the previous appropriations bill. They’re just… calling it that, and Senate Dems have tacitly endorsed it as such.
Or passing bills to selectively fund only the programs they like while leaving the Dept of Education and others unfunded?
That’s exactly what they did. This wasn’t a clean continuing resolution. In the bill was language that effectively retroactively legalizes Trump’s ability to strip parts from the budget as he pleases. Previously he was doing this in violation of the law. Now he’ll be doing it in accordance with the law, and it will be far harder for the courts to stop him.
This wasn’t a continuing resolution. It was an Enabling Act.
I have no love for Schumer and would love to see him replaced, but to play devil’s advocate for a sec, isn’t shutting down the government what Trump and his cronies want? Say the government does shut down, what would prevent Republicans just leaving it shut down indefinitely until all the furloughed employees quit (the same people they’ve been trying to fire unsuccessfully)? Or passing bills to selectively fund only the programs they like while leaving the Dept of Education and others unfunded?
Trump could have simply done that by just not signing the bill and get his shutdown.
because in the
longmedium termsooner than I imagine, those things are going to happen anyway. Presenting it as a choice between “saving (some) fed employees” vs “fucking them over” is disingenuous. The actual choice is between “ceding power and the news narrative” vs not. People are upset that the Dems keep doing this, despite the long history of “working across the aisle” not working.To address your specific points: just because there are things the Republicans want, doesn’t mean they’re “good” for them (see: all? of their policies). In the case of federal employees, passing the “CR”* isn’t going to get them paid–the GOP doesn’t care what the laws say (obviously). The Dems should be obstructing other ridiculous funding bills as well, because the only thing they can do is be in the news cycle for obstruction (and then using that time to sell progressive policies that most people agree with). That’s the only leverage they have. This appeasement threw that away. The hive of scum and villainy is only going to continue their illegal cuts, and the correct response is to fight back, not to lend them more legitimacy. Dems have tried that for decades and this is what it’s gotten us.
*: it’s not really a “continuing” resolution, as it has a bunch of Trumpian garbage in it that wasn’t in the previous appropriations bill. They’re just… calling it that, and Senate Dems have tacitly endorsed it as such.
That’s exactly what they did. This wasn’t a clean continuing resolution. In the bill was language that effectively retroactively legalizes Trump’s ability to strip parts from the budget as he pleases. Previously he was doing this in violation of the law. Now he’ll be doing it in accordance with the law, and it will be far harder for the courts to stop him.
This wasn’t a continuing resolution. It was an Enabling Act.