As the federal shutdown entered its fortieth day, the Republican-controlled Senate voted to end the shutdown after the capitulation of seven Democrats and one independent.
This group of mostly Democrats agreed to join Republicans to reinstate the government for what appears to be a very minimal gain. The eight gave in after the Trump administration chose to weaponize food and hunger by withholding SNAP benefits, a cruel but not unusual tool for this president.
If you listened to the former Democratic governor of New Hampshire, Senator Jeanne Shaheen, on morning network television shows, you would have heard her claim that if Senate Republican leaders don’t move forward with a vote on Obamacare subsidies, as they promised Democrats they would, it will show the American people who they really are and the public can hold them accountable. This is the epitome of kick-the-can-down-the-road thinking. The Republicans already have clearly shown who they are.
In the recent past, relying on Republicans to be honest has never been a reliable approach. It’s time Democrats accepted the reality of who they are dealing with.
The positive aspects of the deal struck by the eighth guarantee the reinstatement of all federal workers laid off, reinstate SNAP benefits and provide back pay for all those who went unpaid due to the shutdown. But these so-called wins are just the basic elements that have always been provided after any government shutdown in the past.
As far as the Obamacare subsidies are concerned, there is no guarantee that an extension would pass the Senate or that the House will even take a vote. It will take both chambers passing the same bill and Trump signing it to prevent the health insurance premiums of beneficiaries from going way up next year. If they do, Republicans have handed Democrats a ready-made issue in next year’s midterm elections.
Now, I truly hope that Trump and the Republicans in the House and Senate prove me wrong and live up to their commitment and responsibility to provide an honest debate and a true solution to the long-term problem of affording health care.
If this shut down heralds a major turning point in the way the Republican Party deals in good faith, that would be a positive turn of events. But, as a rule, capitulating to an abuser never stops the abuse, it only emboldens the bully.
The seven Democrats and the independent who caucuses with them have just illustrated the primary problem of the current Democratic Party—its inability to stand together. As long as Democrats don’t stand together and continue to allow themselves to be divided out of fear of Trump, the party will never be able to live up to its commitment to provide positive change to the people they serve.
Ronald Mitchell
Editor and Publisher, Bay State Banner
