No. of Recommendations: 14
That's just trolling. You know why Republicans can't pass the CR without Democrat votes.
I don’t think it’s trolling. Let me explain why.
The filibuster. I just checked my list of the 10 Commandments and filibuster wasn’t listed. In fact, I even checked my pocket copy of the United States Constitution, and it wasn't listed there, either.
The filibuster is simply a rule the Senate put in place in 1806 that eliminated the rule that allowed for a motion to end debate. This inadvertently created what is now known as the filibuster. In 1917, the Senate added a rule (cloture) that allowed the to end with 2/3 of the Senate vote. In 1975, the Senate changed the rule to allow 3/5 (60 votes) to end the filibuster. There is nothing sacrosanct about the filibuster. This is my understanding. Feel free to correct any errors.
So in theory, the Republicans control enough seats to change the filibuster rules. The reality is that they probably cannot change the rules because a handful of Republicans want to keep the 3/5 rule in place (much like Manchin and Sinema did when the Democrats had a small majority).
There are lots of pros and cons for the filibuster. One of the pros is that several Senators (from both parties) believe the filibuster encourages working together and, that nasty, dirty word, compromise.
It sure isn’t the Democrats’ fault that all the Republicans aren’t on the same page. The American people gave control of both houses to the Republicans. It’s on the Republicans to make things work. And that means changing the rules or compromising.
It is interesting to note that in recent decades, the party withholding votes gets the overwhelming blame for the government shutdown down. However, that’s not happening this time. While always subject to change, more Americans are blaming the Republicans for the shutdown. Recent polls show 45% blame Republicans and 33% blame Democrats with 22% unsure. Included in that are Independents who blame Republicans by a 2 to 1 margin.
Why is this? I think it has a lot to do with a letter I received in the mail yesterday. The letter said the cost of my health insurance in 2025 will be 39% higher than it is in 2024. We’re very fortunate that we can absorb this increase. Tens of millions of my fellow Americans are not so fortunate. They will have to give up basic needs or forgo having health insurance. In the wealthiest country the world has ever seen, that’s just plain sick.
So if the shutdown is to be shutdown, Republicans will need to compromise to get Democrat votes. It’s 100% on the Republicans. They’re in charge. Now Democrats aren’t asking for everything they want, but they are asking for affordable healthcare for regular American citizens.
So far, most Americans don’t think that’s an unreasonable request.
