Americans Suffer as Dems Block 9th GOP Attempt to Reopen the Government
Senate Republicans tried and failed for nearly the tenth time to reopen the government and now believe that Senate Democrats won’t budge until next week or beyond.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats again blocked the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) in their push for an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies.
They argue that unless congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump come to the table and negotiate an extension to the expiring tax credits, they won’t provide Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the necessary votes to reopen the government.
Democrats also contend that unless Congress acts before Nov. 1, the start of open enrollment for Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Americans who rely on the subsidies will see their healthcare premiums skyrocket. Still, their refusal to vote with Republicans to reopen the government has thrust the shutdown into its third week and is closing the window to negotiate an extension to the subsidies before the open enrollment deadline begins.
“With open enrollment around the corner, Republicans cannot continue to kick this can down the road,” Schumer said. “It’s happening now. The healthcare crisis is now.”
But Republicans have messaged that Senate Democrats are waiting for an upcoming “No Kings” protest in Washington, D.C., on Saturday before finding an off-ramp for the shutdown.
Thune acknowledged that there are still ongoing conversations about finding a way out of the shutdown, but he believed that Senate Democrats weren’t going to make a move until after Saturday, two weeks before open enrollment begins.
“It’s just right now, I think the Dems, in particular, are dug in,” he said. “I think you got to get past this Saturday. That’s a threshold issue for them. But I’m hoping that in some of their conversations, they’ll get sort of more realistic. But, yeah, this needs to end.”
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who has engaged in talks with Republicans and Democrats on the Obamacare issue, said that the other side of the aisle likely wouldn’t engage this week, “because they’ve got the big protest going on this coming Saturday.”
“Once we get past that, hopefully they will come around, and they’ll start actually considering the impact of keeping the government shut down,” he said.
He noted that there were already talks among lawmakers on what to do with the expiring subsidies “before the shutdown.”
In the midst of the healthcare squabble, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., noted that the shutdown had much deeper ramifications, particularly on air travel, as air traffic controllers could go without pay should the shutdown continue.
He argued that Senate Democrats and Schumer had become beholden to the “radical left” of the Democratic Party.
“And they’re coming to Washington this weekend,” Barrasso said. “And they’ve told us how dangerous they are by admitting that their shutdown strategy will not change until planes are falling out of the sky. Innocent people are collateral damage in this dangerous political game that the Democrats are playing.”
For once the Democrats are standing up for something, showing us all they do have a spine. The Republicans can vote to end the shutdown today, they just don’t want to do that because they want to inflict maximum pain upon America.
You clearly fail to see what is actually happening if you believe that Democrats are in any way right in taking this stance. The extension of these Obamacare subsidies came at the Democrats strong arming the Republicans to get what they wanted, which is the grab of votes from those individuals benefiting. As the great Yogi Berra once said “it’s Deja Vue all over again” which worked the last time so why not go for it now.
INDEED!
The pain is caused by the Democrats. They can vote to end the shutdown today, but they do not want to because they want to make the American people suffer.
What they are showing are their ass. Why don’t you go kiss them.
What are you talking about when you ask what Americans think. There are now Americans with knowledge and understanding of the facts of what is truly happening to America under Trump’s regime and what his administration. There are also Americans thinking based incomplete and unconnected to the full context information needed for valid sane decision making.
What we have here is a failure of (clear) communication. An over abundance in disinformation getting released is in the game plan of those standing to gain influence and profit from Americans operating without knowing the full truth. The fact that misinformation has long pervaded in American politics primarily initiated by the Republican political machine is proved with this administration’s actions.
They have a majority in Congress, Trump is President, and our nations Supreme Court is 6 to 3 pro-GOP. The party of the right wing is not playing the hand felt them with any integrity they were entrusted with when each of them took the oath demanded of the office they now have and the huge responsibility attached.
Being entrusted with keeping our country free and our Democracy true to its founding has been taken seriously by most elected officials in America’s past 250 years of existence on planet earth. But, the current crop in office at the highest level in this nations government apparently did not understand the oath they took was a promise to the nation, every person on American soil. A sworn oath of loyalty independent of any political party or particular person in public office. And, who are each House member responsible to, all other people in America, that’s who. Senators, justices, President, Vice President, the executive branch and each Secretary in the president’s cabinet are all responsible to the people living in this country, America.
What we have here are persons who have pledged their loyalty to a man who happens to currently hold the office of President. It is of no matter who the current president is. All who have loyalty to the president higher than loyalty to the country are showing disloyalty to: their oath, their responsibility to the country, the will of the people, and the U.S. Constitution which is the law of the land.
Trump is ultimately responsible to all the people. As president, he works for all of us. He may have been elected to office by a portion of the whole population, however Trump sees himself, the truth is that he is responsible to each of us.
We, the people are of a varied kind from the most wealthy to the poorest of poor. We, the people are multiracial, multicultural, multiethnic, religious and nonreligous, politically conservative, and politically liberal. The truth of the matter is the fact that every elected office holder, especially the president, is responsible to all of us.
Therefore, each and every one who has an elected position is held accountable to the people for their actions, while in office particularly.
When the president and his own select appointees are a cabal of liars intent on taking this nation down and out from its historic greatness among the world nations. We, the people have our rights and Constitutional freedoms to speak protest and peacefully protest against all the wrongs and injustices Trump is perpetrating against our nation.
No one believes the Republicans are in the right on who is holding up negotiations the would end this particular shutdown. Speaker Johnson as puppet for the gang of Trump called the shutdown as another delay ploy to not deal with the Epstein final solution.
Eventually Trump and others involved in Epstein’s grand scheme will be outed and forced to face the un harmonious music of justice.
The shutdown is subterfuge to benefit Trump and disallow all responsibility for millions of Republican constituents losing their health insurance coverage.
Whatever Republicans say is patterned after the motto “what would Donald do” they are known to ponder.