Democrats Tell Republicans To End Their ‘Civil War,’ And Avoid Government Shutdown
Speaker Kevin McCarthy may have "doomed his party," politically
Democrats are pushing House Republicans to drop their intraparty squabbling and approve the must-pass legislation to fund the federal government and avoid a government shutdown.
House Republicans have approved just one of about a dozen appropriation bills needed to keep the federal government open beyond the end of the month.
The issue is far-right lawmakers looking for deeper cuts to federal spending than what more-moderate members can stomach.
“Well, it’s my expectation that we will continue to have conversations as we move forward. Rosa DeLauro, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, has our full confidence. And we are ready, willing and able to talk about moving America forward,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). “You know, we have a vision to put people over politics. That’s what we should be doing. That’s why we were sent to Washington, D.C., not to make an ideological point, but to make a difference. And we’re going to continue to focus on making life more affordable for everyday Americans, lowering costs, better-paying jobs, safer communities, defending democracy, fighting for reproductive freedom, and, of course, building an economy that works for everyday Americans.
“And we urge our Republican colleagues in the House to join us. Stop fighting each other in the reckless, reprehensible Republican civil war and let’s get to the business of the American people,” he added.
Sen Mark Warner (D-Va) urged McCarthy to reach out to Democrats and pursue a bipartisan solution.
“I would like to say no, but we’re eight or nine days away and we’ve not even been able to see the House pass the most basic defense appropriations bills. I hope and pray that Speaker McCarthy will say, ‘Hey, I’m going to throw over the far right, and I’m going to put together a bipartisan effort with the Democrats and mainstream Republicans to keep the government funded.’ I think that would get, again, 350, 400 votes,” he said.
Meanwhile, the impeachment inquiry against President Biden — which McCarthy authorized to mollify far-right members in an apparently failed gambit to get them onboard with the spending bills — will only serve ultimately to lead Republicans to electoral defeat, according to MSNBC host Ayman Mohyeldin.
“And, so, for the short term win of maintaining his loose grip on the speaker’s gavel, McCarthy has perhaps doomed his party to electoral disaster. And I say perhaps here, because nothing is ever certain in politics,” Mohyeldin said. “But, we actually kind of have seen this play out before. Look at 1998. Then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who led the successful Republican revolution in the 1994 midterms, allowed his disdain for President Clinton and his desperation to remain in power to override basic political instinct.
“He and his Republicans chose to stoke the anger of their right-wing base and impeach Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, ignoring polls that actually showed an overwhelming majority of Americans wanted Clinton to remain in office despite his acts,” he added.
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