This week, the government shutdown headed into its third week, surely leading to a fourth, as everyone has already gone home for the weekend.
Democrats are on a full-frontal assault to say that the GOP is lying about illegal immigrants receiving health care (more than a dozen Democrat states are giving illegals free health care), and saying that Republicans are unwilling to bargain (also not true).
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has been tasked with holding the line and getting the message out to voters, and so far, I think he has done a great job, but the battle is far from over.
On day 16 of the shutdown, the Senate once again failed to get a funding bill passed.
While the GOP has had as many as 55 votes lined up, the latest effort fell far shorter at 51-45, as several previous supporters of the legislation chose not to weigh in this time around, likely knowing that the measure had little chance of passing.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) offered the Democrats a straightforward bill to extend Obamacare subsidies for one year, to which they have signed on in the past, but that was rejected by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The Senate has now adjourned until Monday, when Thune will likely offer something similar to Democrats again in an effort to end the ongoing shutdown, but it may well be rejected once more, as Democrats are not budging.
Democrats are not the only ones holding the line, as Johnson has done a great job keeping his caucus on point and countering the Democrats' message.
One of the stunts pulled by Democrats during this debacle was when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) offered to debate Johnson on the healthcare subsidy issue, with the speaker responding, “I’ll debate Hakeem Jeffries anywhere, anytime -- as soon as we get the government open. He’s engaging in political theater and stating absurd things.”
Johnson later added, “The House has done its job. I’m not going to let Hakeem try to pretend for these theatrics. This is a Chuck Schumer decision. The ball is in the Senate’s court now.”
Everything the Democrats have been doing is little more than political theater, just as Johnson noted, with a touch of gaslighting thrown into the mix. Projection has been the name of the game on the left, with liberal lawmakers accusing the GOP of the very tactics they have employed themselves. I just hope the American people can see through all this nonsense.
Battleground Republicans seem confident that their message is getting through, and they continue to back Johnson and Thune in holding the line.
For instance, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) stated, "The more people understand the math inside of the Senate, the more I would say Republicans are winning.” Keep in mind, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is one of three Democrats who are supporting reopening the government.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) added, "It's a simple math problem. And the Democrat Party grossly underestimated the American public's ability to understand math."
They are right. When the majority party votes to fund the government, and only a handful of Democrats are needed to pass the required legislation, the opposing party owns the shutdown. This is all on Schumer and the Democratic Party leadership, as Republicans have been more than willing to talk, but, as usual, liberal lawmakers are taking an all-or-nothing stance.
