So it looks like at least Roll Call thinks Republicans will be able to pass their continuing resolution through the House without any Democratic votes. Surprising, given the nature of the caucus, but it doesn’t change the big picture since Republicans still need seven Democratic senators to cross over and vote for it in the Senate. The House just released their continuing resolution text. What I hear though is that Senate Democrats simply don’t have their heart in the fight.
But there’s another issue of more concern than that scuttlebutt. The mechanics of the vote are a bit different in the Senate. But if enough of them refuse to provide their votes and the government shuts down, what are they doing it for? Republicans are saying: vote for it or a shutdown is on you. Democrats are always too willing to think what the GOP says goes. But if you’re going into this fight you have to have laid the groundwork for it. If you won’t provide the votes, what are you demanding exactly? What’s necessary to get the votes to open it back up? I hear vague references to the “power of the purse”? I don’t think that’s going to cut it. I think you need to say, Elon’s got to go. He’s unpopular. Everyone understands what that means since they hear about him every day. But they just haven’t been making that case. And without that case it’s probably not sustainable politically. Of course, you might not lay that groundwork if you weren’t planning to go to the mat over it anyway.
