Submitted by Deirdre Purdy
It’s not a “Government Shutdown,” it’s a MAGA Shutdown.
MAGA Republicans, a small but disturbingly powerful group in the US House of
Representatives, have been on a steady march to shut down the United States
government. Their supposed leader, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is afraid to cross
them and refuses to work with Democrats.
There’s no way to pretend both parties are involved. It’s solely Republicans’
failure to govern.
Why do the MAGA Republicans refuse to fund our government? Because they
now oppose the federal funding plan that they signed in May. They say the
spending (they agreed to) is out of control.
Even Republicans call this “the first-ever shutdown about nothing.” “The weirdest
thing,” said an economist from a right-leaning think tank, “is that the Republicans
don’t have any demands. What do they want? We simply don’t know.”
This is legislative terrorism. If we can’t get our way, we’ll create chaos and tear
the whole thing down. Comparison to toddlers is unfair to 2-year-olds who don’t
understand the trouble they’re causing.
Speaker McCarthy could work with Democrats to pass the appropriations bills that
fund the government.
McCarthy refuses to work with Democrats because, if he does, the MAGA
wrecking ball caucus will vote him out as speaker. Oh, no, Kevin McCarthy might
lose his job. Let’s shut the government down instead.
I am not alone in calling them the “MAGA Republicans.” Their leader is former
president Donald Trump who posted on Truth Social, “Republicans in Congress
can and must defund all aspects of [the] Government. . . . This is also the last
chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots.”
Funny thing. All 3 special counsels, including Jack Smith, who is prosecuting the
Trump treason and national security cases, have a separate revenue stream that
allows them to keep working. Defunding the government has no effect on the
Trump prosecutions.
Nor does it affect Congress. In a shutdown, all members of Congress would still
get paid. One Republican congressman said he would continue to take his
paycheck. “I’m not independently wealthy.” He’s only worth $3 million.
If you listen to the news, you know that a shutdown will affect our military
readiness (service members not getting paid), cyber security, air travel (TSA and
air traffic controllers not getting paid). and much more.
What could be worse? Shutdowns and shutdown threats signal to our friends and
our rivals around the world that our country is weak, unable to lead and barely able
to follow. This is pointless, cynical, dangerous, and irresponsible.
The fact that a 45-day continuing resolution was finally passed at the last minute
by the overwhelming majority who care to govern does not change the underlying
situation.
All of us, Rs and Ds, are being held hostage by MAGAs, posturing for sound bites
while undermining our country’s strength. Be a Republican and a patriot. Stop supporting MAGA candidates.
We seriously have 3 parties now. Dems, Republicans, and Authoritarians. The Authoritarians are insurrectionists. What they actually want is to destroy the government from within. These Authoritarian/insurrectionists really need to be seen for what they are.
Again, to disagree with you Diedre because of misinformation is becoming all to commonplace. The threat of a shutdown was set aside late Saturday after Congress voted to keep agencies open until Nov. 17. Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., dropped demands for steep spending cuts and relied on Democratic votes for House passage, before the Senate approved the measure Saturday night. President Joe Biden later signed the measure.
It is true that House Republicans, fueled by hard-right demands for lower spending, had been forcing a confrontation over federal spending.
In a shutdown, some government agencies would be exempt — Social Security checks, for example, would still go out — and other functions would be severely curtailed. Federal agencies would cease all actions deemed nonessential, and many of the federal government’s roughly 2 million employees, as well as 2 million active-duty military troops and reservists, would not receive paychecks.
Whose fault is this? You blame MAGA. Whom you call small but powerful. Do you call 80 million plus small? The great thing about being a Democrat is that you take credit for everything and responsibility and accountability for nothing. Is there any awareness of our National debt? Dems cry foul over social spending. You want billions going overseas to mostly countries who hate us. You cry to fund Ukranian borders, but get offended when we try to close ours. Biden was just quoted in the London Times as assuring Ukraine their billions would still flow from here to there, Thereby assuring the overseas financial oligarchs that their money laundering will continue to thrive and grow. We may shut down food assisance during this shutdown, but our enemies will be eating better than ever off of our dime. You cry 50 trillion, Yes trillion dollars to go green, while throwing our own energy independence and just as importantly, West Virginian jobs and prosperity under the bus. You cry human rights, but have no problem using slave child labor to push your green agenda or empowering cartels to push sex trafficking and drugs into our country. You talk about the people getting rich in Congress? You are spot on. But why stop with the one you point your finger at. Remember Nancy Pelosi and her refrigerator full of $120.00 quarts of ice cream? It is not just a few on both sides of the aisles. Many are becoming millionaires after one term in office. The problems in this country are deep and we are teetering on the edge becoming a banana Republic. Our debt is scheduled to hit 50 trillion by 2030 if we keep on the path we are on now. Unless our dollar collapses and then we will make Venezuela look like China. Again. Throwing money that we do not have will not make the problem go away. The pundits tell us that all we have to do is tax corporate America and all of our troubles will disappear. Maybe what will disappear is corporate America. Since you have the answers, show us how this can be fixed without budget cuts. The solution is MAGA policies. Dems and Reps. leadership have out right lied about everything so much, so often, the only thing we know for sure is that the majority of both parties would, and in some cases, have sold America for pennies in their bank account. Biden and his policies, with the help of the Dems, Reps, courts and News media have been systematically trying to dismantle America. They started with Christianity and progressed to where we are today. Only Maga stands in their way.
I agree with your response to Deirdre who is completely off the rails with no attachment to reality.