Did the Democrats Cave?
Let's try a reframe.
Image: Politico
Did the Democrats cave?
Welll...seven of them did, if “cave” is an apt descriptor for their votes to end the shutdown without even the temporary restoration of ACA subsidies for health insurance premiums slated to end on Jan. 1.
Forty other Democrats voted No. But along with one Independent, those seven pushed the Yes votes to 60, squeaking by to pass in the Senate.
I share the bitter/angry disappointment at this outcome, but I do not aim it at those 8 non-Republican Senators. I truly believe they voted their conscience. The prospect of continuing the federal workforce to be either laid off, furloughed, or forced to work with pay, and the impact of suspending SNAP on some of our most vulnerable neighbors, outweighed the power struggle on the ACA issue for these Senators. In the end, that’s the injustice they chose to stop first. Access to affordable health insurance--which in our twisted US system translates to access to medical care--will be the next battle. First things first, their votes seem to say. One disaster at a time.
Congressional Republicans, in an overt conspiracy to lower the tax burden on the wealthiest Americans at the expense of addressing basic needs of, and human rights obligations to, millions of other, non-wealthy Americans, are the targets of my outrage.
THEY have caved. They caved on their constituents and on their responsibilities under the constitution.
They have caved to the whims of a destructive and indifferent executive branch and its leader, Donald Trump. They have caved on the notion of being a co-equal branch of government by rubberstamping his most egregious proposals. They embrace and repeat his lies, turning them into talking points. They endorse the wildest and clearly unconstitutional actions he demands. They have abdicated their dignity and abandoned their constituents to serve the reckless, volatile, self-serving interests of one man. And they have done this--caved in on holding firm to their principles and duties--with enthusiasm. They have demonstrated their disciplined unity as the majority party of Congress, devoted to undermining the responsibilities to the Republic.
The Democrats were using the only leverage they had to try and undo some of the damage of this administration and its lackies in Congress: refuse to pass a CR to keep the federal government funded long enough for appropriations to be made until SNAP benefits are restored and health insurance subsidies that are scheduled for elimination at the end o next month, courtesy of the Big Bad Bullshit Bill--Trump’s disastrous landmark legislation that Congressional Republicans passed on his behalf.
In the Senate, this week’s “compromise” the 8 non-Republicans agreed to in exchange for their votes is a flimsy one at best. A verbal, non-binding promise was made to allow the full Senate to vote on whether to restore the ACA premium subsidies next month before they expire. A handshake deal, nothing in writing, no guarantee of outcome.
What might happen as a result? A few possibilities include:
The Senate will renege, and not allow a vote as promised;
The Senate will allow a vote as promised, and defeat the bill to continue the subsidies, setting up millions of Americans to become uninsured;
The Senate will allow a vote, and enough GOP senators will vote with the Democrats to undo the termination of ACA subsidies--and it will then, by pre-arrangement, die in the House;
The subsidies will be restored on a bipartisan basis in the Senate and the House by slim margins--slim enough for Trump to veto it without fear of an override;
The effort to extend the subsidies will pass both chambers, and Trump will sign it into law, taking credit for heroically solving a crisis of his own creation.
There are other possibilities. A temporary, kick-the-can fix could be patched together like the one Democratic Leader of the Senate Charles Schumer recently floated: extend the subsidies for a year, and use that year to enter into serious negotiations in order to come up with a permanent bipartisan solution. In tge meantime, Americans relying on the ACA marketplace will continue to have premium assistance while the DC pols do their thing.
Not a bad approach...except one might be sceptical about the presence of good faith the Republicans would bring to the process, given their track record of refusing to engage in bipartisan negotiations since Trump’s re-election. As noted above, the Democrats were using the government shutdown as their only leverage to encourage such negotiations. The Republicans refused, allowing instead for the longest shutdown in US history to continue before bowing to the notion of making any deals. Why would any reasonable observer expect them to change their tune now that the Democrats have lost the only leverage they had?
Be pissed at the outcome of this shutdown. I know I am. But focus on the real foe: not seven Democrats who voted to end the shutdown stalemate. Rather, it’s the obsequious, diabolical Trump-Republican machine. They are the ones who put the Democrats into this lose-lose position by cynically enabling the scheming, destructive executive branch instead of protecting the interests of their constituents: us.
At this point, we have but one hope: the midterm elections will be here before you know it.
Let’s focus on what we can change.