Schumer is Wrong: Dems Have NO Choice Other Than Cutting DOGE At The Kneecaps - Via A Govt Shutdown

 "The one chance the Dems have to demand accountability & a return to constitutionality by the Republicans -- and they opt to cave in to keep government functioning with piddling concessions & 'business as usual'. Did no one see what Bernie Sanders has been doing & the response from the general public? Why are mainstream & old-school Dems like Schumer such pathetic losers? No wonder Trump & Musk are well on their way to the complete authoritarian takeover." - WaPo comment

John Woods

Madison, Wisconsin2m ago

I can tell you this 81-year-old dude is completely supportive of shutting down the MAGA USA government because it certainly does not represent me. I want to see the Musk-Trump cabal stopped at every turn. It's the MAGA House and the MAGA Senate that are at fault here, not even making any effort to deal with Democrats. Why shouldn't we give them a taste of their own medicine. - NY Times comment

As the chattering classes' heads explode at the prospect of a government shutdown, let’s get one thing clear: This is the last available leverage the Democrats possess against a full tilt, insane axing of the government by Musk’s DOGE dogs.

Thus, any long-term “continuing resolution” you hear about today will be the loudest and last signal that Congress has wholly ceded control of the “power of the purse,”- thereby critically undermining the separation of powers that has been a benchmark of our democracy. Do you really want that? I don’t!

Apart from which approving by vote of the Reeptards’ bill will open the floodgates to $4.5 trillion more in deficits from tax cuts. As oligarch gadlfy Scott Galloway put it last night (Anderson Cooper 360)  “It will put our kids in hock with debt for generations.”

Thus the renegade, lawless Trump administration has given Senate Democrats no choice but to shut down the government. Our country, its systems and its principles are under an assault that will lead to unprecedented societal and personal catastrophes in the short and long term, both domestically and abroad.

Government shutdowns are unquestionably painful, but the death of the separation of powers during this administration would be far far worse. The federal government was never intended to be controlled by the executive branch alone. We were never intended to be ruled by a latter day, wannabe king - hell, why else would my Revolutionary War ancestors have taken up arms against then mad King George III.

But if a government shutdown occurs, responsibility should fall not on Democrats who refused to back the continuing resolution, but at the feet of Speaker Mike Johnson (Louisiana) and his fellow Republicans. At the president’s command, they cynically refuse to advance the normal appropriations process and have surrendered their authority to the executive branch for fear of primary challenge.

Senate Democrats need to use a shutdown as leverage to demand accountability for everything that has transpired over the past six weeks. Their opening negotiating offer needs to be big because the administration’s authoritarian actions have had huge negative implications for the constitutional freedoms of Americans, government transparency, separation of powers, the rule of law, national security, business continuity, the economy and the trustworthiness of America as a partner on the international stage. 

Here's the bottom line takeaway for today: If a long-term, defective continuing resolution became law, it would provide few of the usual detailed instructions to the executive branch on how to spend federal funds. This would result in continued business uncertainty and economic chaos. DOGE and other administration officials would have months to defund and destroy programs that support responsible businesses and programs that help keep communities healthy. This outcome could spell disaster for small, medium-size and local businesses, which are a majority of businesses across the country.

This is intolerable, so we need a shutdown to cut down DOGE at the knees.

The federal programs we depend on — for everything from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Food and Drug Administration, and from federal assistance for low-income communities to crucial environmental, social and economic programs and beyond — could be zeroed out at the administration’s discretion if Congress isn’t able to provide detailed direction on how the money should be spent or to insist that the law be followed. A long-term continuing resolution will be the loudest and last signal that Congress has wholly ceded control of the “power of the purse,” critically undermining the separation of powers that has been a benchmark of our democracy.

A Quinnipiac University poll released yesterday found that 32 percent of registered voters would blame Democrats in Congress for a shutdown, 31 percent would blame Republicans in Congress and 22 percent would blame Trump.

That translates to a majority (53%) blaming the Reeps and their Demented Orange Overlord.  That makes it worthwhile to shut down to show the DOGE Dogs, the Musk Rats and Dimwit Dotard they cannot get their way on every issue or event. The time now is to defend democracy not roll over as Sen. Chuck Schumer seems prepared to do. As Sen. Bernie Sanders put it last night on ALL In, Schumer's fears only materialize if one assumes there will be no blowback from the people. He (and I) are betting there will be - as the eruption of discontent at Trump's madness has for too long been bottled up as it is. 

See Also:

Funding bill may grant Trump, Musk more control over federal spending

And:

Donald Trump

The Man Who Would Be King: It Was Always About Retribution, Stupid

by Jaime O’Neill | March 14, 2025 - 5:30am | permalink

It started by being about things like the Central Park Five, then about Muslims, followed by Mexicans, until it took on random fears about nearly every other country in the world except Saudi Arabia, Russia, and North Korea.

It was about Obama’s birth certificate, Hillary Clinton’s emails, and Sleepy Joe Biden's age and "crime family." Then it was about Kamala because her name was hard for him to pronounce, because she was a "lunatic," and he hated her laugh. Also, she was the wrong one of the genders, of which there were, according to his later fiat, only two.

It was about inflation. The price of “groceries,” a word that seemed to be new to him. It was about foreigners coming here to rip us off, or about them ripping us off from their mostly shithole countries, though even the nicer countries were only nicer because they had been ripping us off so consistently for so long.

» article continues...

And:

Democrats to decide: Shut down government or side with Trump - The Washington Post

And:

‘Big mad’: Trump is ‘emotional’ and ‘annoyed’ over trade war he started | Watch

And:

Federal employees union tells Congress: Don't just give Musk and Trump more money | Salon.com

Excerpt:

In a letter to senators, obtained by Talking Points Memo, the American Federation of Government Employees urged lawmakers to oppose a Republican plan that would keep the federal government open for another six months. That plan, a continuing resolution passed by the GOP-controlled House earlier this week, would avert a shutdown that is due to start Saturday. 

But passing the Republican proposal in in the Senate would mean lawmakers effectively surrendering their constitutional power to the executive branch, where Musk — backed by President Donald Trump — has claimed authority to slash congressionally-authorized appropriations. If the White House can disregard such appropriations, in defiance of the Constitution giving Congress sole discretion over spending, then passing a CR with no limits imposed on Musk or his Department of Government Efficiency would in effect be providing the Trump administration a pot of money to spend as it pleases.