Independent Senator Angus King told MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough that part of the reason he supported breaking from Democratic leadership and opening up the government was because standing up to Trump was not working.
It was working, idiot.
Last Tuesday’s election told you so.
All credible polls told you so.
Well, Joe, you have to go back to what the strategy was at the beginning of the shutdown. There were two goals, both of which I support.
One was standing up to Donald Trump. The other was getting some resolution on the ACA premium tax credit issue.
The problem was that the shutdown wasn’t accomplishing either goal, and there was practically, well, it was zero likelihood that it was going to.
In terms of standing up to Donald Trump, the shutdown actually gave him more power, Exhibit A being what he’s done with SNAP and SNAP benefits across the country.
Oh, by the way, Joe, you’re going to love this. Guess who’s getting paid during the shutdown? Not the park rangers or air traffic controllers, the ICE agents.
Under special law, under that big, awful bill that they passed last summer, the ICE agents are being paid.
Nobody else is.
So standing up to Donald Trump didn’t work, it actually gave him more power.
The Republican controlled Congress had already abdicated their entire duty as a co-equal branch of government before the shutdown and allowed Trump to run roughshod over the US Constitution. How does his vote change that?
