Let’s be really, really clear about something that is, in fact, dead simple: Republicans have a majority in the House of Representatives. That means they’re in charge of the chamber’s entire agenda, and it also means, by definition, that they as a party have enough votes to secure passage of any piece of legislation.
So if House Republicans can’t pass a spending bill to keep the government open past April 28, when current funding will run out, it’s the Republicans’ fault. That’s it. That’s all there is to it.
Of course, real life isn’t anywhere near this simple for Paul Ryan and the GOP, because the Republicans no longer represent an actual political party—they’re just a collection of warring nihilists who, after half a century of trying to tear down the government, are incapable of putting together a coherent agenda for running it.
And since a sizable contingent of this band of dystopians won’t vote for any spending bill that doesn’t defund Planned Parenthood—which would be dead on arrival in the Senate, where Republicans need at least eight Democratic votes for passage—that means Ryan has a majority in name only. Just like his counterparts in the Senate, Ryan would need the help of Democrats to pass a spending bill.
That’s why pathetic Republicans are indeed praying for Democratic votes right now—in the House, a purely majority-rule institution where the aide of the minority should never be necessary. It’s a truly embarrassing spectacle for a party that, by sheer numbers, is at the height of its power. But when are Republicans anything but embarrassing?
And Democrats, it should go without saying, are under no obligation to spare Republicans their embarrassment. Again, this is all on the GOP. The fact that Ryan’s party can’t get its act together is the Republicans’ own fault, not the Democrats’. If the GOP can’t pass a spending bill with Republican votes, then they and only they will be responsible for any shutdown that ensues.
Of course, there is an alternative: “Moderate” Republicans sick of all this madness could simply vote to elect Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House and make this all her problem. She’d certainly do a damn sight better than Paul Ryan, but obviously this sensible solution would never come to pass. Republicans would much sooner shut down the government—and die of a terminal case of embarrassment.