Senate Democrats voted to shut down the Federal Government. They are demanding that the Trump administration agree to add a reported $1 trillion+ in additional spending. They claim that failure to do this will cause our health care system to collapse and costs will explode. Some have literally said people will die if this demand is not met.
Time will soon tell. One of the problems with forecasting disaster is that most of the time they never happen. For example, how many times have we been told that if we don’t fund all these climate change emergency projects immediately and demand world-wide compliance, that we are all doomed to extinction. There have been numerous warnings like this, none of which came close to happening. In 2009, Al Gore said there was a 75% chance that the arctic ice would be completely gone by 2013. Oops. Politifact tried desperately to say that Gore was misquoted, or this was taken out of context, but instead they just showed us how desperate they are to cover up for liberals:
I seriously doubt that people will suddenly start dying because of the lack of medical care. Those of us who have been around for a couple of years know that prior to the passage of ObamaCare, this wasn’t happening. It is unlikely to happen now.
In addition, if the continuing funding resolution had passed, it included health care payments already authorized during the Biden administration. This means that if there is any immediate impact to healthcare funding, it will be caused by the government shutdown.
Democrats own this. The longer this lasts the more damage to the Democrat party. When they fold, as they must, they will lose support from their most vocal and angry base. This is a lose-lose situation.
To make things worse, AOC just told Republicans to come to her office to negotiate directly with her. When Nancy Pelois learned about this she was clearly rattled. It now means that Hakeem Jeffries has two unbelievably bad options: He can shut down AOC, and risk making the liberal left even more angry, or he can try to accommodate her, which would make him look even weaker.
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.”
Sir Walter Scott “Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field.”
The battle of Flodden Field in 1513 was a complete disaster for Scotland. The Auld Alliance between Scotland and France let King James IV to invade England during Henry VIII’s campaign against France. This was apparently designed to divert English attention and resources away from France. It didn’t work. King James IV was killed along with many of his nobles.
I am not sure what Democrats expected, but unless something changes this will be a complete political disaster. There are no signs of Republicans even considering backing down. So far, even the MSM is putting most of the blame on Democrats. Ouch! Odds are the double secret probation committee is working overtime on an exit strategy. Donald Trump is too busy giggling and cutting things important to Democrats to be impressed. This is a classic case of going all in on a poker hand, without actually having any cards to play.
TDM