Original Title: The Real Reason Dems Caved on Shutdown Will Make You Want to Scream
Original Content: Turns out, senators were only thinking of holding onto their own power. It turns out, the government shutdown ended because some senators want to be able to keep campaigning on Obamacare. Seven Senate Democrats and one independent caved on the government shutdown Sunday, leaving their party empty-handed after a grueling 40-day deadlock with Republicans. Those senators included Dick Durbin, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, John Fetterman, and Tim Kaine, as well as independent Angus King. All eight lawmakers are either retiring or won’t face another election for several years, making the alleged behind-the-scenes rationale for the crumbling stalemate even more asinine. More than a dozen House and Senate Democrats expressed anxiety that actually preserving premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits through their shutdown demands could strip them of a winning issue in the coming midterms, reported The New York Times. Their secondary anxiety involved the powerful Senate filibuster, fearing that conservatives might actually bow to Donald Trump’s demands to ax the disruptive legislative tool. “The political logic of the shutdown fight was inverted: If Democrats got the tax credits extended—if they ‘won’—they would be solving a huge electoral problem for Republicans,” reported the Times.
“The political logic of the shutdown fight was inverted: If Democrats got the tax credits extended—if they ‘won’—they would be solving a huge electoral problem for Republicans,” reported the Times.
Summary: The article argues that several Democrats and an independent capitulated on the shutdown to protect their political interests, particularly regarding Obamacare subsidies and the filibuster, as Republicans preferred to maintain leverage.
Author’s note: The piece presents a critical view of Democratic negotiators and highlights concerns about electoral calculations influencing policy stances.
Авторское резюме
Политический анализ, подчёркивающий влияние избирательной логики на решения по финансированию здравоохранения и правилу кенгуруфильтра, без искажений источников.