Genuinely torn about the Senate vote to keep government open. We face a true five-alarm fire for democracy, but I have not seen a persuasive refutation of these points. If the goal is stopping Trump and Musk, a shutdown seems to give them more leverage not less https://www.slowboring.com/p/sixteen-thoughts-on-an-averted-shutdown
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If it would give Trump more power to have a shutdown, then why are Republicans voting for a CR?
The truth is that this is the only time Democrats will have power, and not using it means ruin.
https://bsky.app/profile/nberlat.bsky.social/post/3lkcwfbi5a22u
I would say it’s worse.
Republicans will not stop, the best time to confront them head on is now.
If you delay it, you might never get another chance at a direct confrontation again.
https://bsky.app/profile/sahilkapur.bsky.social/post/3lkdq35puik23
What’s been missing from Dem leadership IS THIS EXPLANATION so that the internet didn’t lose its goddamnt mind last night.
Shutting down the government means the attacking army does not get paid.
Dems need to start opposing. Fight for every inch, every time.
The public sector workers understand this very clearly. It's already the endgame, and Sept. will be too late.
1. How did this just come up now? Did no one think this through before ... yesterday?
2. I could reluctantly get behind a message of "we're defending Article I" but a message of "we're preventing arbitrary action" contradicts the facts on the ground.
RIF layoffs are not applicable to shutdowns as per OPM’s own rules.
“The problem with DOGE” is that what they’re doing is largely illegal, whether it’s access or canceling funds designated from congress. Not “curtailing programs” I like.
Just a complete wash over the actual problem
Schumer isn't necessarily caving...I am greatly concerned about what they would do with a 'shutdown' government.
For me the leverage point around re-asserting the role/powers of Congress is decisive.
Point (c) specifically seems wrong, given that large federal employee unions have explicitly come out for NO on the CR.
This action doesn’t exactly shake those charges.
And of course, Hitler respected the autonomy of the rest of Czechoslovakia after that and everyone lived happily ever after. So now that we understand what playbook the Senate Democrats are reading from, can we just skip to the end? Tr*mp must go
Point A: yes ppl stop working either way - the question is: do you want to force change by shutting everything down, or let Elon just shut down the things important to you and keep alive the things important to MAGA (and do so in a more permanent fashion)?
https://bsky.app/profile/dburbach.bsky.social/post/3lkdhm35krk2d
https://bsky.app/profile/correctquestion.bsky.social/post/3lkdhysuths2b
That same rationale could be applied to anything. By that logic, you shouldn’t bother resisting Trump legislatively on ANYTHING, bc SCOTUS might reverse it.
Which is nonsensical.
Given the employee union is for a shut down it’s better for dems to be true to their values
They will not be blamed for the shut down. Quite the opposite
From my perch, a shutdown, absolutely derails the GOP reconciliation agenda of gutting Medicaid & SNAP for tax cuts
And while MOCs get paid during the shutdown, their staff don’t.
Forget markups and floor time, it’s hard to write a bill when neither your staff nor leg council can pay their rents
Also, doing exactly what Trump/Republicans want by passing the dirty CR (and getting nothing for that) and then claiming that you are resisting them does not make sense to me.
The destruction will continue regardless. The Dems need moral legitimacy if they hope to stop it.
But Senate Dems caving to Republicans is going to further signal that there is no meaningful opposition party in this country.
And if the Leadership is in the extreme minority because it is unable to convince members of their position or strategy…
Leadership has to go
Anyway……
Also Schumer is either criminally ignorant or lying WRT how RIF layoffs work. As per OPM’s own rules, RIF’s are not applicable for shutdowns:
I don’t think he understands how the game has changed since like 2010.
Horrible leadership.
But this is six months, and a gutting of DC finances, giving up on expanded VA benefits, etc - that’s most of the GOP’s ballgame.
And there are gonna be a lot of normie voters that say "if what Trump/Musk is doing is so bad/illegal, why didn't anyone stop it?
Hoping they recalibrate and blame Trump in 6 months when the government is burnt to a crisp is insane.
Liz Warren was a professor until 15 years ago - she gets it, Bernie talks to folks, he gets it.
Ps here’s Marc Andreessen’s weird head
https://bsky.app/profile/jacobhacker.bsky.social/post/3lkchexfjec24
And tbh rallying the public by framing the facts is politics even if people deride it with a TV show epithet.