The expected “shutdown” of the federal government has begun. Historically, shutdowns have followed a pattern: Democrats have claimed that the sky is falling, while Republicans have emphasized how limited they are (“temporary furlough of nonessential government workers”). The winners have been federal employees, who have wound up with a paid vacation. And, no matter the circumstances, most people have blamed Republicans.
Things are different this time. You can see it in the muted coverage by the official mouthpiece of the Democratic Party, the New York Times:
Last night, without much fanfare, the federal government closed. Neither side showed urgency in averting the shutdown. In back-to-back Senate votes, each party blocked the other’s stopgap spending proposal.
The Republicans’ bill did not restore Medicaid funding or extend Obamacare subsidies, so Democrats didn’t sign on. The Democratic version added more than $1 trillion in spending, so Republicans said no.
Not a very enthusiastic endorsement of the Democrats’ position. I think most people who pay attention understand that the Democrats are trying to reverse policy decisions–e.g., no free health care for illegal aliens–that Congress voted for just weeks ago.
President Trump suggested he could use the shutdown to enact measures that would be “bad” for Democrats, “like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.” He later added, “a lot of good can come down from shutdowns.”
This is a key reason why there is not much enthusiasm for the shutdown among Democrats. Trump says he will take advantage of the shutdown to enact a reduction in force, laying off large but unspecified numbers of government workers. This is on top of the 100,000 who have just taken advantage of the administration’s deferred resignation program.
I also think most voters have seen enough “shutdown” drama to understand that it is much ado about very little. And the goals the Democrats are trying to achieve–another trillion dollars in spending, much of it on illegal aliens and fraudsters–are unpopular with most voters. So I don’t think Republicans fear being blamed for the shutdown.
For the record, the Republicans’ “clean” continuing resolution was filibustered by Senate Democrats, who mustered 45 votes to block it. Senators Masto of Nevada, King of Maine, and Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted with the Republicans.
UPDATE: The fact that the Dems’ latest ploy is being called the Schumer Shutdown likely reflects the widely-held belief that a prime motivator of the shutdown is Schumer’s desire to fend off a possible primary challenge by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She can’t call me spineless, Schumer says–I shut down the government!
So, what will Senate Democrats be doing during the shutdown? Via InstaPundit, they will take advantage of the time off to raise money from rich leftists:
To be fair, of course, it is possible that the Democrats’ shutdown may have collapsed by the 13th.
