Do my eyes deceive me? Did the shutdown just end? Did the shutdown just end without Republicans giving up ANY concessions other than a handshake deal to vote on ACA subsidies no later than the second week of December?
I’m actually shocked. I’m shocked that Democrats folded like a cheap suit and Republicans held their ground and kept the government closed until Democrats actually negotiated in good faith*. I put an asterisk there because we know they don’t actually do anything in good faith, but they definitely got on the right track here. Anyway, Republicans secured a MASSIVE win here and Democrats took an incredibly huge loss by giving up.
We all knew this was a Democrat shutdown from the start. It was very evident because Democrats were the ones demanding things to reopen the government while Republicans voted FIFTEEN times to reopen it, with Democrats voting no every single time. First the argument was “We need SNAP benefits to reopen the government, or else!” And they rode that train until late last week when they realized people weren’t rioting in the streets because their SNAP benefits didn’t hit their cards. Crazy how all that grandstanding meant absolutely nothing and their main voter base didn’t care enough about losing SNAP benefits for a week to demand that the government got reopened. The next argument was “We need to extend Obamacare subsidies for the next year to reopen the government, or else!” Democrats really thought that demanding that Obamacare subsidies be extended was the way to go at Republicans to get the government open. If Republicans didn’t budge on SNAP benefits, why in the world would they budge on Obamacare?
So here we are. The government is about to be reopened, with the only major reversal being the firing of furloughed federal workers under the Trump Administration and giving them back pay retroactive to 2019. If that’s all we had to give up, this was a massive win. Now, the big concern here is that we’re going to have an Obamacare vote sometime between now and the second week of December. This time, Democrats can filibuster all they want. They aren’t holding the government hostage, and all we assured was that there would be discussions on it, and a vote. Here Republicans need to hold strong. Obamacare subsidies NEED to go away because it is not up to the taxpayer to pay for cheaper healthcare for those under Obamacare. Its not the GOP’s fault that healthcare premiums are rising under Obamacare, its the Democrats’ fault. They’re the ones who passed Obamacare without a single Republican vote. They’re the ones who required people to get their garbage healthcare or risk fines for not being covered. THEY’RE the ones who eliminated competition in the healthcare market causing costs to rise.
Remember this shutdown next year folks. Remember who held the government hostage to try and get concessions on Obamacare. Remember, if Democrats get a majority during midterms, they will pull stunts like this again, and it will be at your expense. On November 3, 2026, remember to vote for true conservative Republicans to keep the country in tact. Do NOT let Democrats win seats and get a majority.
-UC