Democrat ‘Support’ of Mike Johnson’s CR Is a Ruse. Here’s Why.
I’ve been predicting for some time now that Democrats actually want a shutdown, and so far, things are playing out exactly how you’d expect. After previously suggesting they couldn’t support Speaker Johnson’s “laddered” continuing resolution, suddenly we’re finding out that Democrat leaders are actually signaling support for it.
What changed? Perhaps the most significant thing is that five Republicans have come out against Johnson’s stopgap funding bill. Johnson could only afford four Republican defections. That means that the onus is on Democrats to save it and avert a shutdown.
Even the White House called it too extreme, but now Biden is refusing to commit to vetoing it.
“I’m not going to make a judgment on what I’d veto and what I’d sign. Let’s see what they come up with,” Biden said Monday.
Do you remember how this all played out last time? Because, if you do, you’re probably getting a little déjà vu. Democrats ultimately backed McCarthy’s stopgap funding bill, despite opposing the lack of funding for Ukraine, then patted themselves on the back for saving Americans from the dire consequences of a shutdown. This was, of course, after they went through every trick in the book to delay its passage. Don’t forget, as the deadline for funding the government got closer, Democrats claimed it was necessary to review the stopgap resolution in order to postpone a vote. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries also exploited a rule enabling party leaders to speak indefinitely to delay it. Then, there’s the notorious fire alarm incident, in which Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) pulled a fire alarm during the vote in yet another attempt to postpone it.
And then they voted for it.
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If history is any guide here, now that Democrats have established a willingness to support Johnson’s CR, they’re now free to use whatever tricks they can to force the shutdown so they can blame the GOP. We’ve seen them do this before, so don’t let them get away with again. They want a shutdown. They want Mike Johnson to be humiliated. They won’t vote against funding the government, but they will make every effort possible to undermine it.