We have just entered the fourth week of the federal government shutdown, and Democrats have a big decision to make.
There are numerous programs at risk of running out of money, and the looming renewal deadline for healthcare plans is prompting a new level of concern.
Once Nov. 1 arrives, Democrats will have lost their leverage, so they will have to decide between signing onto the continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government or risking millions of people losing their entitlement benefits and suffering higher health care costs if there are no subsidies for Obamacare.
The entire Democrat plan revolves around using the American people as leverage against the GOP and the CR.
Democrats, in my opinion, have not even hidden this strategy, openly gloating about how the shutdown is going, as if greater suffering by the American people gets them more points on the political scoreboard.
For instance, when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was recently asked about the state of the shutdown, he gleefully stated, “Every day gets better for us.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) confessed, “[If] you reopen the government and we lose our leverage…” After a bill was floated by the GOP to pay all essential workers during the shutdown, Democrats blocked it. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) stated, “That just gives the president more leverage" if they were to pass the measure.
The fact is, the GOP has offered a stand-alone bill to extend healthcare subsidies, and Democrats refused it because they want these tax breaks to be permanent. The irony here is that Democrats could have made them permanent when they passed the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act via reconciliation, but they only chose to extend them temporarily. I believe this was done purposely to create leverage in this exact moment.
One of the key programs that will be impacted by the government shutdown is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which means that millions of Americans who rely on this program to put food on the table will soon go without this benefit.
I look at this and say it is a perfect example of what happens when you rely on the government to run your household, and I have been called heartless for that take, but to me, this is a reality of leaning into a socialist country.
The USDA announced that the program funding well “has run dry,” adding, “At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
It will be hard for Democrats to blame this on the GOP when it is they who are blocking the CR from being passed (so far, only three Democrats have supported the passing of the measure in the Senate, leaving the legislation five votes short of clearing the filibuster threshold).
Beginning Nov. 1, the healthcare marketplace will open up for Americans to start shopping for their healthcare plans for next year. Without those subsidies, plan costs are expected to skyrocket, exposing the flaw in Obamacare that has existed from the outset and confirming something that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) predicted years ago.
In 2013, Cruz stated, "Despite Obamacare subsidies, many Americans will still be paying higher premiums in 2014 as a result of Obamacare.” From my experience, Cruz hit the nail on the head, as my premiums doubled after Obamacare went into effect, and today I am paying a 400% increase over what I was paying in 2013, and that will likely double again without the subsidies.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) called out Democrats for playing this game of chicken just to score political points, stating, "It looks like, at least right now, what they're simply doing is trying to keep the government shut down long enough to get past the enrollment deadline so they can have the political issue.”
Polling on this issue right now is fairly evenly divided, with a small edge in favor of Democrats, but there is no telling what will happen once the calendar flips to a new month and the reality of the shutdown starts to really impact every citizen, one way or another. I just hope the American people can see through the lies and realize that this is Democrats using them as pawns, and not Republicans and President Donald Trump.
