The shutdown is nearly over
I guess the Democrats were waiting for last Tuesday’s election. They thought the shutdown would help them win – especially in Virginia, home of the federal worker, and that they could successfully blame it on the GOP. Now they can end it. The vote was for cloture, which means the shutdown will almost certainly be ended by a simple majority, and fairly soon.
All those predicting that the Republicans would cave were wrong; at least so far. It was eight Democrats who “caved,” none of them up for re-election in the 2026 midterms. So now it goes to the House, where I predict it will pass (hopefully), with a few more Democrats from purple districts “caving”:
… [M]ost Senate Democrats [had] refused for weeks to reopen the government unless a deal included the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to end Dec. 31. The compromise includes a commitment for a Senate vote on the subsidies in the second week of December, but the concession doesn’t guarantee an extension.
John Hinderaker thinks it was the problems with air travel that caused the Democrats to give in:
Based on the speeches by Chuck Schumer (bordering on the insane) and John Thune, it sounds like what tipped the balance was disruption to air travel. Important Democrats are not on food stamps, but they fly. A lot. So when a shutdown of air travel threatened, pressure on Democratic senators became irresistible. That is my reading of the situation, anyway.
I have zero inside info on this, but I don’t think that’s correct – although I do think the air travel shutdowns made the “cave” even more likely. As I wrote above, I think it was always the Democrats’ plan to give in after the elections. I think the whole thing was pre-orchestrated, and the eight senators who “gave in” did so with the blessing of Schumer. If the Democrats had wanted to continue with the shutdown, they could have tried to continue to spin out propaganda that the big bad Republicans were the ones holding out, which never made sense but with the MSM’s help they were successful in convincing at least the Democrats I know that this was the case.
Several New Englanders were among the “cavers”, including the two bland senators from New Hampshire who like to pose as moderates but rarely are if it would mean actually defying the Party:
A critical group of at least eight Senate Democratic centrists has reached a deal with Senate GOP leaders and the White House to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending enhanced Affordable Care subsidies, according to two people familiar with the discussions — even as the rest of their party has openly pilloried the deal.
***
At least eight Senate Democrats have agreed to vote for the deal, which was brokered Sunday night between three former governors — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Angus King of Maine and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire — along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House.One of those Democrats is Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who represents thousands of federal workers in the state and who said he supports the GOP’s promise for a future vote on the subsidies.
The more radical Democrat politicians seem outraged, and the Bluesky contingent likewise. Many of the former may be angry only because the GOP didn’t make more concessions; most of the latter probably thought the Democrats could and should hold out forever, or until the revolution.
The “regular” Ds (Pelosi, Schumer et al) were perfectly happy to help along the violent left base into the party. Now, like Frankenstein’s monster, that violent base is coming after Schumer given the memes Neo and townhall have pointed out. I wonder now if Chuck will actually admit there’s a violent streak within his party now that there’s pics of him being shot or guillotined?
I lean the other way on the disruption of air travel being a significant factor. Not the disruption of flights, per se, but the loss of money by the airlines. One of my neighbors works at the local airport (a good-size, important hub) performing ground operations. She has been saying for a few days now that the airlines are screaming mad over the loss of revenue and a bit terrified of what happens if it continues into the Thanksgiving travel season. That, along with the elections being over, most likely made the senators see that continuing would be a Pyrrhic victory at best.
The funniest part are the people who were *positive* this was a “republican” shutdown are the same ones who are furious that the democrats caved. The lack of logical consistency doesn’t bother liberals in the least.
For at least 2 weeks Victor Davis Hanson has been saying that Schumer will pull enough “safe” Democrats aside and beg them to vote to end the shutdown. Further, he will tell them that he will publicly oppose them but he will owe them a big favor. Then the shutdown will end and Schumer will still have his skirts clean and his Frankenstein Monster base won’t be too angry at him. I’m sure many others thought the same thing as VDH but I learned it from him because I read him regularly.
The Democrats are sure to do a shut down before the 2026 election. With the likes of Rand, Murk, Thom, Cassidy, etc The Republicans do not have the votes to nuke the filibuster on spending bills.
The gerrymander battle will be crucial. Hopefully SCOTUS will provide ammunition for redistricting. This conservative California website think the ruling may invalidate California’s proposition 50 but I think that’s a stretch.
https://californiaglobe.com/fl/us-supreme-court-could-rain-on-newsoms-prop-50-parade-could-be-ruled-unconstitutional/
According to Sean Spicer, this funding bill is only through Jan. 30, 2026 which could lead to another standoff.
Dick Durbin also voted for cloture and he’s up in 2026, I think.
I wouldn’t discount KBJ issuing the TRO that halted a Democrat judge’s attempt to force SNAP funding in absence of any appropriation as having an impact. That likely meant either the Democrat PTB knew they were on thin ice trying to force Trump’s administration to keep payments flowing, or at least 5 other Justices told her there was a permanent RO pending appeal waiting for their signature if it got that far, so she may as well give the District Court a chance to get it right.
The government is to reopen, run for your lives!
Democrat internal polling must have been horrible for them to agree to this. That said, the crackpots in the Democrat party are probably emboldened by this. The center of gravity of the party will shift way to the left, and people like Mamdani, Jasmine Crockett, Jayapal, and AOC will be seen as the Democrats’ leaders. Gavin Newsom will be considered too moderate to be their nominee.
Perhaps the shutdown was not a total loss for Democrats — assuming the hang tough image helped out in the successful 2025 elections for them.
But now the elections are over, they are holding the losing hand in the shutdown, so to time to wrap it up and move on.
I’m sure, as Sgt. Joe Friday just said, both sides have done a lot of internal polling on the shutdown.
It would also seem that D wins in 2025 don’t necessarily forecast a blue wave in 2026 as some Democrats boasted and some Republicans feared.
Not that I’m fond of Republicans but I won’t have anything to do with self-proclaimed Democrats. Keep your mouth shut and I won’t care but how can anyone propose or support the positions the Democrats claim to favor? Mutilating children??? Etc.
@ whatever > “The lack of logical consistency doesn’t bother liberals in the least.”
Of course they are consistent!
The Republicans obviously caused the shutdown, because they didn’t give the Democrats everything they wanted!
“…because they didn’t give the Democrats everything they wanted!”
Indeed, but well, it was only a game, really…
A game of “chicken”…
The Chicken-Little, Sky-is-Falling, Trump-is-Destroying-America Democrats (and their Media-accomplices/fantasists), USING America and Americans as their hostages, playing “chicken” with the Republicans over the citizenry—and FUTURE—of America…
A game Trump decided he wasn’t gonna play…
(Kind of like Hamas playing “chicken” with the Israelis over the hostages, alive AND dead, though actually BOTH Israeli hostages AND Gazan hostages, the citizens of Gaza—no, not all, certainly—being held “hostage” (UN-, EU- et al.-approved hostages, to be sure) by their Hamas overlords/hostage-takers/abusers/murderers par excellence…)
OTOH (not that this is actually anything new), maybe Democrats NEED shutdowns every so often so as to distract We the Sheeple from understanding what it is that the Democrats are REALLY doing….
“At What Point Does This Become Treason?”—
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/what-point-does-become-treason
Opening grafs:
Shutdown?
SIMPLY because the Democratic Party Grift Machine has been hit—HARD—by MAGA.
(Keeping in mind that for the Democrats, it’s grift, grift, grift all the way down the line.)
And—surprise!—here’s the Obamacare Edition:
“The Obamacare secret at the heart of the shutdown: insurers made billions at taxpayer expense;
“Subsidies were greatly expanded by the Biden administration during the COVID-19 pandemic as an emergency measure, but Democrats have fought to keep them permanent. Those subsidies went mostly to Democratic donors.”—
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/obamacare-secret-heart-shutdown-insurers-got-rich-taxpayer-expense
Yep, DPUSA is the grift that keeps on grifting!
(To paraphrase those thrilling words: “Ask
NOTwhat your country can do for you—ask what YOU can grift from your country!!”)I think one problem is that the republicans didn’t catch the amount of blame–which would result in pressure–that the democrats had counted on.
@ Richard Aubrey – possibly attributable to the “centrists” of both parties (aka not the fanatics of the extremes) having far more sources of information available that the Democrats do not control; and also having a greater awareness of the extent to which Democrats (and their controlled media) lie.
Aesop
Yes as to sources. Sometimes. But the stuff’s out there. Point is…fingers in ears and LALALALAL is the same as no source.
The airlines have, I suspect, another issue. How far do you have to go to make flying better than driving?
I have some relations who had to go from the Detroit area to Chattanooga. Google maps shows just over nineteen hours driving. That’s google maps. Driving five over, and almost every mile is on I75, takes it down to eight and a fraction. Plus an hour for gas and such like.
So, flying out of Detroit Metro, you leave home when? To get to the airport the required number of hours prior to the flight. Eventually, off you go and in an hour or so, you’re in town. Get luggage, some kind of ground transport–rent, uber, friends–and you’re where you want to be. How much less time than driving? And you can only take what you can carry and/or the airline allows you to check. And your return is fixed, not variable as to local events of other interests.
When you drive, the seats are more comfortable, the company is whom you choose, your food is varied as to whatever choices you want to make. Interests on the way can be addressed. The scenery is better and the restrooms are more spacious and cleaner.
So how far….?
Correction: Google maps shows nine hours and change.