I understand the frustration with the CR vote and the anger at Senator Schumer.
However, the senators really had no good choices.
I’m not saying we need to applaud Senator Schumer. I’m not saying he should continue as leader.
But I am saying that we need to remember who the enemies are. They are the fascists who are trying to destroy the United States: tRump, musk, putin, and other oligarchs.
Below the fold you will see the arguments made by Senator Whitehouse. Remember this senator has been on a campaign to clean up SCOTUS for years. No one should consider him a sell-out.
Although he voted against the CR, he understands why some D senators voted for it. Because to shut down the government could weaken it when it is already weak.
Last week, I voted against the horrible MAGA “continuing resolution” – a cruel and partisan bill.
But I want to be clear: Democrats, who are in the minority in both the House and Senate, had no good path here.
Republicans jammed us with that fake CR to maximize power so Trump and Musk could keep ripping up the federal government. They baked in a ton of evil, shrinking the power of Congress, and creating slush funds for Trump and Musk. I could not give that legislation my vote.
But we also need to be clear about how dangerous the shutdown option was. A government shutdown would’ve handed horrible powers to Trump and Musk, allowing the awful stuff their DOGE Musk-rats are doing to continue under a veneer of legality under shutdown authorities. Democrats would have little leverage to get back out of a shutdown Musk and Trump actually wanted, and they could pick and choose which departments to bring back.
Thoughtful and honorable senators can and did disagree on which was worse. Fighting about that now hurts only us.
The question which was worse is the wrong question. A fight over how Democrats should’ve voted is the wrong fight.
This was a set-up by MAGA extremists to give Trump and Musk unprecedented power to cripple the government, either way. And MAGA Republicans are delighted to see us quarrel amongst ourselves over it.
Our number one job now is to stand united against Trump, Musk and the dangerous anti-democracy forces at work in Washington.
That’s where our focus must be.
Our country is in an emergency. The only way we will get out of this is to hang together with persistent and relentless focus on the real danger we are facing: Trump’s rampage against American democracy.
When people ask me what change in leadership we need in Congress, I say "We need Leader Jeffries to become Speaker Jeffries." We need our Minority Leader to become Majority Leader. Then the madness ends.
Please, remember who the enemies are.
When they divide us, we fail.
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