Republicans lose all the way around on this shutdown [View all]

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Last edited Mon Jan 22, 2018, 12:09 PM - Edit history (3)

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...their entire calculation that Democrats would be blamed for shutting down government for protecting Dreamers, or whatever, is based on their belief that the public is going to react by blaming one side or the other, and the winner runs the table.

There's a question of how much the public will really notice or care, but right now republicans are taking the most heat, because of the obvious fact that they are in charge of all three branches of government. It strains credulity to blame Dems (as republicans have) for choosing 'illegal immigration' over Americans affected by the shutdown, because people can see Trump pulling the rug from under the Dreamers, manufacturing a crisis where there was already a productive solution in place. They can see Trump immorally risking making these young folks into criminals with his reversal of DACA - children of immigrants who were promised there would be no repercussions from registering under the immigration order.

People can see Trump and the republican party arbitrarily refusing to extend health benefits to children under CHIP. They can see republicans refusing to put the extension to a vote - that is until it was convenient to use children's health as a bargaining chip in their cynical scheme to short-fund the government with these costly continuing resolutions.

Thing is, republicans need government to open, more than Democrats. There's little reason for Democrats to grease the skids for republicans to further tear away at the benefits and protections the middle-class and working poor rely on to survive. There's no reason to open the door to more attempts to eviscerate health benefits, or stand aside so republicans can further loot the treasury for their wealthy friends - no reason to remove obstacles to business as usual for republicans if they're not willing to include Democrats in the decision-making process, and willing to allow votes on Democratic amendments.

If republicans aren't willing to, at least, keep their promises to Dreamers and children's health, there's no reason at all for Democrats to budge. The burden of responsibility for keeping government running in the interest of the American people is on the party in power, no matter who republicans blame for their ineptness and incompetence in allowing this shutdown to come to pass.

It won't be long before the public remembers how negligent this republican Congress and their president have been in producing and delivering anything of substance or value. If they think about it long enough they're going to realize these republicans haven't succeeded in anything more than feathering their own wealthy nests; republicans throughout government encouraged in their graft by the grifter-in-chief whose family flaunts their limitless wealth in front of our struggling workers - much of that wealth enhanced by exploiting and trading on their positions in our government.

Democrats have very little to lose by holding firm as the republican party soaks in this hot water they've drawn for themselves. Their dystopian fantasy ends here. They've thrown themselves, headlong, into this boiling kettle, curiously demanding that Democrats stop throwing more logs onto the fire. Time to watch them burn.