Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 10/30/2025 6:30:02 PM PDT by Red Badger
CNBC host Joe Kernen, a conservative, did not mince words during a Wednesday segment with Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT). Asked if he was ready to vote to reopen the government yet, Welch replied, “You know, I’m not there yet. Because we have had literally, Joe, no discussion whatsoever about how we’re going to deal with the spikes in premiums.”
Kernen, clearly exasperated, shut him down. “This is the right way to do it, senator? By people not getting paychecks at the TSA? This is extortion! … In your conscience, you think it’s the right way to do it?”
WOW. When even CNBC is BLASTING Democrat Senators over their government shutdown, you know it's bad:
CNBC: "Are you ready to vote with the Republicans to reopen the government at this point, as a reasonable Democrat?"
SEN WELCH: "You know, I'm not there yet…"
CNBC:… pic.twitter.com/5ehdcUQdCW
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 29, 2025
Is it hyperbole to call what Democrats are doing extortion? Hardly — it’s an entirely accurate characterization. On the eve of the shutdown, Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters, “You don’t put a gun to the American people’s head and say, unless you do exactly what Senate and House Democrats want you to do, we’re going to shut down your government.”
We’ve seen a host of outraged Democrats caterwauling over President Donald Trump’s unwillingness to negotiate. Yet their demands — to undo Medicaid cuts and to extend COVID-era Obamacare subsidies set to expire at year’s end — are plainly unreasonable. Their position makes clear that Senate Democrats’ refusal to support a clean Republican spending bill is driven entirely by politics.
We know that because Democratic leaders have acknowledged as much. In a recent interview, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) admitted, “There will be families that are going to suffer … but it is one of the few leverage times we have.”
A number of Democratic leaders, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (VT) and Martin Heinrich (NM), have made similar statements. Another Democratic senator who requested anonymity told The Hill, “People are going to get hammered” if they vote to reopen the government.
Democrats have put themselves into an untenable position. They know they’re playing a losing hand and will, sooner or later, have to capitulate — just as every party that forces a government shutdown eventually does. A review of past shutdowns underscores this point.
In December 2018, Trump shut down the government to demand funding for a border wall. Democrats, who had won back control of the House one month earlier, refused to negotiate until the government reopened. After 35 days, Trump backed down.
In January 2019, Democrats, insisting that protections for Dreamers be included in a spending bill, shut down the government. This time, it was Trump who refused to negotiate until the government reopened. The Democrats caved after a three day shutdown.
In October 2013, House Republicans demanded that any spending bill include measures to defund or delay the Affordable Care Act. The standoff deepened when they refused to support an increase in the debt ceiling.
Then-President Barack Obama “vowed repeatedly not to pay a ‘ransom’ to get Congress to pass normally routine legislation.” The shutdown was resolved through bipartisan Senate negotiations. No changes were made to the ACA.
In December 1995, House Republicans forced a three-week shutdown to pressure then-President Bill Clinton into signing a balanced budget agreement. Suffice it to say, the move backfired on Republicans.
In every instance, the party responsible for triggering the shutdown ended up losing the fight — just as Democrats will ultimately lose this one.
We all know why it began. Well aware that Democrats would be blamed for the looming government shutdown in March, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted for the continuing resolution to keep the government open. Although he made the right decision, he faced fierce backlash from Democrats who accused him of caving to Trump.
Six weeks later, his favorability among Democrats had plunged to record lows, fueling speculation that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) might mount a primary challenge.
Determined not to repeat that episode, he chose to fight — but it hasn’t helped him. Never a particularly popular politician, even before his March vote for the continuing resolution, his current favorability rating in the RealClearPolitics average stands at just 27%.
Trump is not going to back down. Why would he? Just as the Republicans tried to cripple Obama’s signature bill back in 2013, the Democrats are trying to kneecap Trump’s big, beautiful bill, the cornerstone of his administration’s domestic agenda. He won’t let them.
So, the question becomes how much longer the people hit hardest by the shutdown will have to suffer to save Schumer’s political future.
On Monday, the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employees’ union called on Democrats to reopen the government. Surprisingly, the move failed to sway party members who are now dug in.
But the public has begun to lose patience with Democrats. Their automatic and relentless “resistance” to virtually every Trump administration initiative is wearing thin. And it’s even showing up in the polls. As CNN data analyst Harry Enten reported on Tuesday, Republicans’ favorability among independent voters has increased by 8 points as the shutdown has dragged on.
The current shutdown was a serious political miscalculation for the Democrats. When they decided to pull the plug on the government more than five weeks ago, they forgot they were standing in water.
=============================================================
Elizabeth writes commentary for Legal Insurrection and The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
|
|
Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
Some are speculating the Rats will fold after next week’s election. They’ll claim victory and move on …. We’ll see …
Democrats will lose horribly.
Democrats will claim victory.
Media will praise Democrats for their great victory.
Media will announce that this could be “the beginning of the end” for Trump.
What about the rumor the democrats are doing this to get the Republicans to go nuclear and end the filibuster once and for all? Then if the ever get a Senate like they had two years ago, they can run roughshod over the Republicans.
I don’t believe it but I can certainly see some Machiavellian wheels turning in some of their heads...
That is a definite possibility.
They want the Republicans to do what they were afraid to do themselves......................
Peter Welch has the IQ of a dinner plate.
Porcelain or stoneware?............
Sanders is not a Democrat.
-PJ
Not officially, but politically...............
Chinaaa
“Democrats have put themselves into an untenable position. They know they’re playing a losing hand and will, sooner or later, have to capitulate”
and the longer they wait, the weaker their position the next time a budget has to be passed, which will have to occur before november 21 [when the prospective House CR will end], or the government shuts down AGAIN! ... don’t think even the insane Dems would be stupid enough to shutdown the government again in three weeks!!!
the Democrats have really, really, really screwed themselves big time this time!!!
YEA!!!
and the major airline CEOs [no friend of Trump] just stood beside Sean Duffy and demanded the DEMOCRATS vote for the House CR to reopen the Fed government ...
When AFGE told them to stop the crap, it was over.
Now the Dems can’t figure out how to stop it and save face...................
-PJ
The Demon-rats will not capitulate.
They will let the country burn instead of giving up power.
I say let it happen.
End the Demon-rats once and for all.
I note that you have been paying close attention. Many thanks for the accurate — and persistent — scenario, CCG. Cheers!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.