Democrats have no intention of cutting the pork from their spending so a shutdown seems practically certain. They’re blaming the sudden crisis on conservatives, who have been warning them all along that this is what will happen. If the liberals didn’t believe them, that’s their problem. Go ahead and shut it down, most Americans won’t notice a single difference, the far-right shrugs.
Shutdown terrifies Democrats
With the clock ticking down toward a “MAGA shutdown,” progressives “are already strategizing over how to make Republicans pay.” They see an “appropriations breakdown” in their crystal ball.
Democrats have only one viable response, “maximizing the GOP political pain while avoiding blame themselves.” Their out of control spending has nothing to do with it, Democrats insist.
Nobody has dared to allow the government to shut down since Barack Obama was in office. The pundits are grumbling that a shutdown won’t do good things for Joe’s chances at reelection in 14 months. They know that votes and voters are two different things.
The government will shut down unless a spending bill is passed by Sep. 30. That’s about 16 more legislative days for lawmakers to work out a plan to keep funding the federal government. https://t.co/FvwuwnsSkg
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) September 5, 2023
Democrats shrug off low poll numbers and poor turnout because they have the ballots already filled out. Even so, they can only “fix” so much.
It’s all those bad Republicans’ fault for insisting on fiscal responsibility, Senator Tammy Duckworth proclaims. “This is really going to be driven by the House.”
“They’re the ones that are going to bring [a shutdown] upon the country.” Appeasing them by staunching off the hemorrhage of cash is totally out of the question to Democrats.
Kick it down the road
Democrats may be in the House minority but they’re still hoping to bargain another stopgap measure. The standard procedure is to kick the can down the road with a “continuing resolution.” Democrats want a “clean” one, that doesn’t have any sneaky language in it other than keep the status quo right where it is until it comes around again.
While that trick usually works to avoid a shutdown, it’s not happening this time. The House Freedom Caucus has been insisting on major concessions since the very beginning and they will hold all the rest of the Republicans to their word.
Kevin McCarthy fought way too hard grabbing the Speaker of the House gavel to give it up now. He’s obligated to the far-right faction for supporting him in the bloody battle.
I want the govt shutdown! I want it to starve! I want it to dry up! Shut it down! Shut it down now! Defund all democrat agenda items! https://t.co/MEx3oiYojl
— Conservative MAGA Republic – FJB (@CRdotUS) September 5, 2023
If he caves in and refuses to back them now, they could yank his precious gavel right out of his hand and give it to Jim Jordan. That makes shutdown a very real possibility.
The way the liberal left has it figured, Politico explains to their left-leaning readers, “a solid Democratic front, the thinking goes, will squeeze Republicans from districts won by [alleged] President Joe Biden and force McCarthy to the negotiating table.” Gerry Connolly has already resigned himself to an impending shutdown.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of hope that Kevin McCarthy for once will actually stand up to the far right.” The liberals have problems of their own. “with some on the left privately anxious that Biden, the consummate Washington dealmaker, might try to negotiate with the GOP if a shutdown drags on.” As Barack Obama once warned them, “never underestimate Joe’s ability to bleep things up.“
