Well, the Senate voted last night to re-open the government after 41 days of getting nowhere. The seven Democrats who voted to re-open are Dick Durbin (IL), Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen (NH), Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen (NV), John Fetterman (PA), and Tim Kaine (VA). Independent Angus King (ME) also voted in favor while Republican renegade Rand Paul (KY) voted against.
The approved bill would keep much of the federal government funded through January 30, while certain agencies would receive funding through the end of next September. The bill still needs to be passed by the house and signed by the President. A procedural vote on Sunday night secured the necessary 60 votes, paving the way for the final passage on Monday.
What Democrats got out of the deal was protection for federal workers who were furloughed or laid off during the shutdown (rehiring, back pay, and prohibiting additional mass reductions-in-force until the end of January); a full-year appropriations bills for certain agencies (military construction, veterans affairs, agriculture, and the legislative branch); and a promise of a future vote in the Senate on extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that are set to expire on January 1st.
What they didn’t get was a promise to extend those ACA tax credits.
After the vote there was quite a bit of gnashing of teeth and outrage among the progressive side of the party, that the Democrats had “caved” instead of fighting to the bitter end.
I don’t know about that.
After the vote, Angus King explained that for his part he didn’t see any movement or any possibility that the Republicans would provide that guarantee, even if the government had stayed shut down for another month.
I don’t know that he’s wrong.
For whatever reason, Republicans seem hell bent on depriving Americans of health care and making their health care insurance costs go up.
Is that a winning strategy?
It sure doesn’t look like one.
I mean by now:
- Farmers finally understand that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and that his tariffs on China have closed the soybean market for soybean farmers.
- Ranchers finally understand that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and would rather support ranchers in Argentina than to open markets for ranchers here at home.
- Latinos who voted for Trump finally understand that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and is happy to have his ICE agents racially profile them all over the streets of America.
- Black men who voted for Trump finally understand that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and has actively worked to scrub DEI initiatives from American life.
- SNAP recipients who voted for Trump finally understand that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and is eager to deprive them of food as a means to an end.
- Americans who voted for Trump (and who didn’t vote for Trump) now clearly understand that Trump doesn’t give a shit about them and will eagerly deprive them of their health care and send their health care costs skyrocketing.
The results of these policies precipitated the mini-blue tsunami we saw Tuesday of last week. It wasn’t a good look for Republicans.
Democrats have already proved that they are ones trying to save health care and health care costs for Americans. Would being shut down for another month make that any clearer?
Those Americans who believe that Democrats are “just trying to give health care to illegals” are going to continue to believe that regardless of the evidence before their eyes. Cognitive dissonance will not let them believe anything else.
Would it have been nice to get those health care guarantees? Of course.
Would it have been nice to notch a win over Trump and the Republicans? Of course.
But I don’t think that was going to happen, no matter how long the government stayed shut.
And one hidden benefit that may prove to be important in the long run, the Republicans did not nuke the filibuster. That could have led to a lot of bad things being done. And that didn’t happen.