Go Away, Chuck

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

After a surprising  and glorious victory at the polls last Tuesday, it looked as though the Democratic Party was suddenly on the ascendancy, but just a few days later seven Democrats in the Senate and one Independent who votes with Democrats, put the brakes on the party - or as one clever national pundit put it, "seized defeat from the jaws of victory" and torpedoed the party's new found enthusiasm.    Those eight voted with Republicans to end the government shutdown - without addressing the drastic increase in health insurance premiums that is washing over the country.

Senate Democrats ought to be spelunkers because they are always caving.  (That's not from a clever national pundit - it's just Pa Rock expressing his own frustration with the Party of the People.)

The disgraceful eight who sided with the out-of-touch and uncaring Republicans in the Senate were:  Angus King (Maine, Independent),  Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada),  Dick Durbin (Illinois),  John Fetterman (Pennsylvania),   Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire),  Tim Kaine (Virginia),  Jacky Rosen (Nevada),  and  Jean Shaheen (New Hampshire).

The two things that the Democratic turncoats seem to have in common is:  1. they are all moderately well-off white folks who have their own stellar health nsurance plans that are taxpayer-funded, and 2. None of the eight are up for re-election in 2026 and can thus put some time to forget between themselves and the voters they just shafted.  Two of the eight (Durbin and Shaheen) are not running for re-election and are therefore not encumbered by having to give a rat's ass about what voters think, and the other six will not be up for re-election until 2028 or 2030.  (Why, it's almost as though they were hand-picked for this dastardly betrayal of people who depend on the Affordable Care Act for their medical coverage!)

And whose hand would have selected the renegades?  The most likely culprit would be their titular head, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, the man who led the way in throwing in the towel early and averting a government shutdown in March of this year.

This time Schumer, who is past his prime and will be 75 a week from Sunday, put on a good show and led the Democratic side of the shutdown for forty days.  Then he either: 1. lost control of his caucus, allowing eight members to break ranks, or 2. secretly facilitated getting a group of semi-protected senators  organized for the mini-revolt.   My money is on option 2, that he had secretly had a hand in getting the opposition organized while he stood back and continued his public support of the effort to rein-in the cost of insurance for Americans.  He had his cake and ate it, too.  But I could be wrong.  Maybe Chuck was just incompetent and couldn't control his caucus, much less scratch his butt and walk at the same time.

The Senate bill to end the shutdown officially passed last night on a 60-40 vote with one Republican, Rand Paul of Kentucky, siding with the diminished Democrats.  Today it heads to the House which, as soon as Mike Johnson can get his members back in town, will very like support its passage on another exceedingly close vote.  (Maybe then Johnson wil also fulfill his constitutional duty and swear Adelita Grijalva into the House seat that she won  W . . . A . . . Y  back on September 23rd!)

And maybe someday Senate Democrats will unite and stand tall for all Americans - and not cower under their desks every time Trump sneezes - but don't count on it.

And maybe someday all Americans will have the same privileges as members of Congress including FREE government healthcare.  Healthcare, food, housing, and a livable environment should be more than just privileges for the fortunate among us, they are basic human rights and should be guaranteed to all.  But that won't be happening under the current administtation, especially with it's steady supply of Democratic enablers.

Go away, Chuck.