Democrats have only hardened their position as the government shutdown enters its 23rd day, leaving Republican majorities in Congress with few answers — and many criticisms.
For the 12th time, Senate Democrats blocked the Republican Party’s government funding legislation this week without a single senator switching his or her vote.
Just three Democratic caucus members voted for the bill: John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Angus King, I-Maine. That means Republicans are still five votes short of the 60-vote threshold to ensure passage of the bill, just as they have been since before the government shut down 23 days ago.
Democratic voters had pressured their party to take a more confrontational posture toward Trump in the shutdown battle. The new stance may be paying off with the party’s base.
While being manipulated is not your fault as a member of the public, it is certainly the public’s fault for not being informed or taking the time to learn about and understand politics and allowing the kind of “why you gotta make everything political” anti-engagement sentiment to influence you.
Somewhere along the way we started allowing someone’s poor understanding of how the world works and how the country operates to be a respectable and protected identity, rather than a sign of massive failure from top to bottom of the system.