Dems have a huge advantage in the shutdown if they hold steady.

Saving healthcare is a winning issue, and Trump’s plan to fire thousands will hurt him, not the Dems. This is literally the only chance the Dems have. If they blow it, I suggest they cease as a political party.

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

MoveAlong · 70-79, M

This is one of the few issues I disagree with the Democrats on. Their hearts are in the right place and the recent assaults on healthcare are nothing short of crimes IMO.

BUT...when Trump tried to win concessions by attaching a rider to the bill in his first term I argued that he was wrong and Congress should approve a clean bill. The Democrats are wrong to demand concessions in this case as well.

The only rider that should be attached to this bill is that the government must always be funded unless Congress votes to shut it down.

I believe this is a losing battle for the Democrats. They will ultimately have to back down.

Bumbles · 56-60, M

@MoveAlong Reasonable points and I was against the shut down last time. Some senators may cave. If the Dems can’t win this I really do think they should cease to be a political party, and a new centrist party will need to emerge.

ninalanyon · 61-69, T

@MoveAlong

the government must always be funded unless Congress votes to shut it down.

This is another weird US thing, the idea that the quotidian apparatus of the state has to be approved every year. Some years ago in Belgium they went twelve months without a government but civil society, the police, courts, health service, etc., all continued to function without a glitch.