The Republican government shutdown is rapidly approaching.
The continuing resolution passed at the end of last year which kept the government open into this year expires on March 14.
If the government doesn’t pass these unfinished fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills by that date, the government will shut down. Again. To be clear, any functioning government and competent political party would have found a way to enact these bills months ago, and given their new President one less thing off his plate to have to deal with. (Remember, fiscal year 2025 began on October 1; by March 14, we will be half way through the fiscal year.)
But a functional and competent political party? Who are we kidding? We are talking about this 21st century version of the Republican party, a party defined by treason, sedition, cowardice, racism, spinelessness, hypocrisy, moral and ethical bankruptcy, pathological dishonesty, conspiratorial nuts, incompetence, and perhaps most importantly, a profound and historic lack of patriotism whatsoever. So no, those appropriations bills remain unfinished.
As we all know, this treasonous, Republican party defined by cowardice, spinelessness and a profound lack of any patriotism and integrity, controls both the White House and both houses of Congress (not to mention the Supreme Court)). But, funny thing is, that isn’t going to be enough to fund the government and keep it open. Republicans have to have Democratic help to keep the government open. That’s simply a fact. The filibuster in the Senate guarantees that, where Republicans need 60 votes to advance legislation. (They have 53.). Additionally, the historically narrow GOP majority in the House of Representatives of only about 3 votes almost guarantees that House Republicans will need Democratic votes in that chamber as well, since a healthy number of the rabid, unhinged seditious House Freedom Caucus don’t really vote for any spending bills. So that gives Democrats leverage,. A lot of it. And we need to use it.
Not a single Democratic vote to bail these traitors and cowards out.. Not one. (with one caveat, which I’ll mention at the end of this piece.)
As we all know, we did so repeatedly over the last couple years, bailing religious zealot and traitor and hypocrite and staggeringly immoral Mike Johnson out time and time again, keeping the government open and raising the debt ceiling..
No more. The government should shut down. It is under the GOP’s watch. They should own this. Every second of it. They have the responsibility to keep the government open. And yes, that includes the debt ceiling too.
I realize that this goes against very core of what we as Democrats and liberals and moderates and independents and perhaps even some or many “never Trump” Republicans stand for. We are the party that believes in a functioning, adequately funded federal government that we keep open — that can and does a lot of good for millions and millions of Americans but also folks around the world. We are the ones who believe that whatever level government we have — big or small or somewhere in-between — it should function well. (That is not a radical concept.) So standing by and watching as the government shuts down doesn’t feel right to us.
Especially when we know that a shutdown — an extended shutdown — will cause people pain. A lot of pain. That, of course, is the hardest part of all of this.
I also realize that this outcome would be exactly what some of the most unhinged treasonous GOP freaks want — the MTGs and the Andy Ogles and the Clay Higgins of the world. So be it.
I believe that extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.
We are living through a coup right now, and watching the federal government being systematically dismantled in realtime, at shockingly rapid speed, led by the unelected, Neo-Nazi-sympathizing, and lawless richest man of the year and his pack of 20-something incels, with the cognitively failing, racist traitor and convicted felon -in chief content to focus on exacting petty revenge on anyone and everyone who looked at him with a raised eyebrow once. Your seizure of The Kennedy Center, treasonous Donny? Bravo, you pathetic, weak, whining loser. You really showed ‘em. But I digress. Did I mention that the DOJ is being destroyed from within, the entire DOJ and FBI being purged and profoundly corrupted, led by a treasonous, lying, worthless AG Pam Bondi, who never should have been confirmed and indeed deserves rapid impeachment.
Yeah, extraordinary times.
A government shutdown — an extended Republican government shutdown — is one of the only things I can think of which would really hurt these treasonous cowards politically, which is all they care about. They run the government, they have the responsibility of keeping it open. Period, As we have learned repeatedly, no one cares about process — that Democrats “could” help keep the government open if they wanted to. This is GOP ‘s government now — and we need to make sure everyone knows it.
But we need to start now. Every week. Maybe every few days highlight a different branch of government and note the looming Republican shutdown. National Parks. Social Security checks. Veterans’ benefits. Major bridge or highway projects. Some event with eggs and chickens, and bird flu and federal scientists. Farm subsidies. Press conferences. Field hearings. Every week at a minimum. On message. Every one. Stress the rapidly approaching Republican government shutdown.
In addition to helping to win the messaging war, it would have the significant added benefit of reminding non-MAGA freaks — millions and millions of non-MAGA freaks of reminding people that that federal government does a lot of things — A LOT — that we really care about, need and like. And that no one — with the exception of a large chunk of the aforementioned MAGA freaks — voted for the systematic destruction of that government.
And again, yes, this includes the debt ceiling too. The Republican Party will be responsible for the economy crashing on its watch. Extreme, yes, but again… WE ARE LIVING THROUGH AN ONGOING COUP.
The one caveat to all of this which I briefly referenced earlier, of course, is if Democrats are able to extract SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT CONCESSIONS from Republicans to keep the government open. For starters, at a minimum:
- Elon Musk and his cronies are banned from any government work immediately and forever.
- A remaining independent government watchdog — if there are any — is required to catalog and document and release to the public any and all laws that Musk and his cronies broke.
- The unilateral assault on USAID, NOAA, and godknows how many other agencies ends. Immediately. Folks who had been put on leave / fired under these purges are rehired with backpay — and they are provided with additional legal protections,
- Significant budget cuts across the government are a nonstarter. Hell , any cuts. Funding should be level for the remainder of this fiscal year, (Republicans are going to cut a massive amount of money across government through the reconciliation process — in either one or two different bills — in the coming months which Democrats won’t be able to stop; reconciliation bills are NOT subject to he filibuster.) So Democrats’ stand on funding cuts needs to happen here.
- Required published investigation into how many 1/6 insurrectionists, wife abusers and others are currently in prominent positions of government.
For starters. No doubt that ere are plenty of other concessions Democrats should demand at a minimum. But those were top of mind for me right now.
Republican government shutdown. MAKE THEM OWN IT. STARTING NOW.
