Nobody loves a good old total government shutdown more than the Republican Party, especially when they can blame it on literally anybody else. The Grand Old Party loves to use a shutdown to prove a point or to try and force its way into getting something it wants.
With speculation rampant about the upcoming deadline to avoid a shutdown by passing a continuining resolution for the budget, Philadelphia Representative Brendan Boyle is ready with a firm reminder about exactly who would be to blame if the government shut down. Posting to X, Boyle points out that the Republicans are in control of the House, Senate, and the White House.
With this control, Boyle states that any blame for a government shutdown would fall squarely onto the shoulders of a Republican Party that has been unwilling to compromise or work with its political rivals. If it happens, it’s because the Republican Party wanted it to happen. It’s reasonable for the Democrats to oppose the content of the Continuing Resolution (CR), although some do think the shutdown would be worse. What’s notable is that Democrats are usually on the other side of this scenario, as Republicans typically oppose CRs. The difference, this time, is that this is “Trump’s CR.”
Although the Republicans have 52 votes in the Senate, the CR bill requires 60 votes to pass, meaning at least 8 Democratic Senators need to cross the floor and vote for the measure. The bill is controversial because it makes sweeping cuts, among other things, and seems designed to be everything the Democratic Party specifcally opposes. It’s been called “deeply partisan” by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, speaking to The Independent, and there are many reasons the Democratic Party would want to steer clear of passing it.
This is a deeply partisan spending bill that not only contains completely unnegotiated and unexamined cuts – beyond that, it actually takes away all accountability from the president and strips Congress of their ability to actually review the tariffs that are being put forth by the executive.
Many Democrats simply don’t see the legislation as being crafted with the good of the country in mind. Nor do they see it as being crafted through a bipartisan process — something essential when one side doesn’t have the votes to pass it alone. Senator Chris Murphy called it a “real failure of leadership.”
It doesn’t feel like Republicans have actually undertaken their responsibility, which is to reach out and work with Democrats to try to find a path forward. They knew that they were going to have to work with Democrats on budgetary issues, and they haven’t, which is real failure of leadership on their, their part.
As is often the case in politics, the truth is a lot more nuanced than many people would like to believe. While Democrats do need to vote for the bill for it to pass, the onus is on the Republican Party to reach a resolution that both parties can be happy with — the point of the opposition is not simply to rubber stamp any and all legislation, after all. In a heavily polarized system like the U.S. has, however, compromise is easier said than done. That said, if the Republicans don’t even try, can the Democrats really be said to be at fault when the process fails?
Published: Mar 12, 2025 12:20 pm