The Real Reason Dems Caved on Shutdown Will Make You Want to Scream
These senators included Dick Durbin, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, John Fetterman, and Tim Kaine, as well as independent Angus King. All eight lawmakers are either retiring or won’t face another election for several years, making the so-called behind-the-scenes justification for the collapsing standoff even more stupid.
More than a dozen House and Senate Democrats have expressed concern that continuing premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits through their shutdown requests could deprive them of a winning issue in future terms, reported The New York Times. Their secondary concern was the Senate’s powerful filibuster, fearing that conservatives would bow to Donald Trump’s demands to remove this disruptive legislative tool.
“The political logic of the lockdown fight was reversed: If Democrats got the tax credits extended — if they ‘win’ — they would solve a huge electoral problem for Republicans,” the newspaper reported. Times. “If Republicans were able to let the tax credits expire – if they “win” – they would give Democrats a stick with which to beat them in the election. »
