Last week, Dan outlined the insanity of the Republican party's apparent decision to let Democrats continue to run the federal show. At the time, the GOP was fretting about a possible government shutdown that could occur if Congress couldn't agree on a spending plan. Since most congressional repubs are terrified of a real fight, you started to hear talk of concessions almost immediately.
Now, they've allegedly reached a deal that will fund the government through September, avoid a shutdown, and (you guessed it) give Democrats pretty much everything they want. For example:
It does not fund a border wall.
It does not include funding for the hiring of new immigration agents.
It protects 99% of the EPA's budget while increasing spending on clean energy research.
It does not defund Planned Parenthood.
It bails out Puerto Rico's Medicaid funding shortfall to the tune of about $300 million.
It does not contain financial penalties for sanctuary cities.
It does contain $12.5 billion in military spending, which is increasable to $15 billion if the administration crafts a workable plan to destroy ISIS, but that's only half of the $30 billion President Trump requested.
It also contains not one of 160 Republican riders which Democrats deemed "poison pills." I won't bother listing them all. You get the picture. Dems are smiling ear-to-ear this morning. Need proof? Take a gander at the statement from Chuck Schumer:
“This agreement is a good agreement for the American people, and takes the threat of a government shutdown off the table. The bill ensures taxpayer dollars aren’t used to fund an ineffective border wall, excludes poison pill riders, and increases investments in programs that the middle-class relies on, like medical research, education and infrastructure.
Early on in this debate, Democrats clearly laid out our principles. At the end of the day, this is an agreement that reflects those principles."
But there's no shutdown. So, we're supposed to consider this a win.
Congratulations, Republicans. You've done it again.
Yes, we'll get another crack at this later, but what will be different? Democrats will, once again, threaten a shutdown. Why would we assume the GOP will choose another course of action? At this point, it’s like being trapped in the movie “Groundhog Day.”
How many times will we be forced watch this scenario play out?
