See You In Three Weeks: Government Shutdown Has Ended With Nothing Lost
I’m not quite sure why Democrats are upset that the shutdown has ended. CHIP has been funded for 6 years, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell now has to open an immigration debate in the coming weeks. An overwhelmingly bipartisan vote for an immigration bill in the Senate puts pressure on the House and White House. If these demands aren’t met, another government shutdown probably happens on February 8.
I understand many on the left wanted a vote on an immigration bill with firm commitments from the House and Cadet Bone Spurs that the Senate bill would move through the other chamber and be signed by the Dotard. In all reality, the immigration debate will not be resolved until there is a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate and a Democratic President.
Senator Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, quoted Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as saying “It is what it is. We’re not in the majority. You’ve got to play the hand that was dealt you, and this is what we have. For those who voted to shut it down, you’ve gotten further than we’ve ever gotten in the past five years to have a major piece of legislation on immigration committed to come to the floor since we did the 2013 immigration bill.” Who could possibly disagree with any of that?
Was The Shutdown A Success Or Failure
Ezra Klein highlights how this really depends on what happens in the next 3 weeks. What legislation will be brought up? What will pass the Senate? What will pass the House? What will the President sign? Either way, Democrats have the opportunity to shut the government down if they don’t like the process or outcome over immigration in the next three weeks.
The question is does an extended shutdown increase the likelihood of a compromise on DACA? In other words, where does the pressure come from to make Trump make a deal on immigration during an extended shutdown? His base? They love government shutdowns and strongly dislike any immigration legislation increasing the number or legalization of them. It’s all amnesty and unacceptable to them.
Democrats have already shown that we are willing to shutdown the government, an extreme measure, in order to get the process and hopeful outcome for immigration. Leaders are saying they will do it again. What has been lost? If McConnell reneges on his word, Democrats shutdown the government.
It bares repeating. Democrats don’t have the votes, and need to win more elections in order to pass the legislation they want. We know Republicans can’t govern. We have nothing as a country if Democrats decide they want to take hostages, as Republicans have shown they will do, as opposed to governing. Do Democrats want to be right, or do they want to win?
