Many Democrats are predictably furious about what they see a “cave” by eight Democratic Senators that led to progress on the budget impasse that the country has been dealing with for almost two months.
". . . a promise from Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to hold a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies." From this administration? From conservatives? From virtually any Republican (and many Democrats)? Fool me once . . . !
Sure. But not holding a vote puts this on them, while Dems get some things they wanted. A year extension of SNAP means that those benefits won't be at risk when this agreement runs out jan 30
I was one of the raging opponents to this reopening, but cooler heads have brought me, too, the belief that this could be a very good thing. The Republicans are now on the hook to deliver, and if they don't - well, elections are coming up. The people who rely on SNAP are grateful for this settlement, as are the food banks. I hope this minor change brings us much to be thankful for this season. We'll see.
good analysis. I'm not convinced that cuts to health care are a done deal. My assessment is the House is a better place to fight for health care. Its members are vulnerable to constituents opinions. The pain of raising health care costs are going up while the consistent support is falling. Best regards, Asa
Like many, my initial reaction was negative, but the other things included moved me to mostly support the "compromise". Everything Dave says below about Tim Kaine is true. We met several times when he was in local and state politics, and I always found him impressive. Sadly, tho, I suspect that while Thune may live up to the December bargain, there will never be a House vote. I no longer believe that the R's can be trusted ... pretty much about anything they say.
I agree -- and when the House fails to follow through, they'll totally own the result. Kind of like the dog that caught the car he'd been chasing. Now what?
I figure that the folks who have skin in the game (federal workers, people on SNAP, and anyone else who depends on the government in some way) have the right to question what's going on. I have no skin in this particular game, so I decided to wait to judge the people who know more than I about the process.
I was angry as well...until I read more about the agreement. There is scheduled to be action on ACA and continued subsidies in December. At that time, we will be in a stronger negotiating position and should there be reneging by republicans they will own the issue. The seven are betting that failure to act then is too high a price for the republicans even if tRump pressures them. The seven are all folks who have said they will not be running again or like Kaine not up for reelection for a while, so there will not be the short term consequence of lost seats for us.
I do believe Kaine and others are smart and are playing the long game, as much as it hurts to have tRump say we "caved". The good news now is for federal employees and those receiving SNAP benefits.
Kaine's not up again until 2030, and I think he'll retire. He'll be 72 and I don't think he's fully recovered from Long Covid that he experienced in 2022. All of the eight Dems who voted for the bill have either announced their retirement, are expected to retire, or considered invulnerable because of their popularity within their state. This was not a casual action by the Dems. It's also true that voters have short memories -- historically, if an elected official wanted to do something controversial or announce somethings potentially scandalous, the best time to do that is right after an election and years before the next election.
During my working career, I had the pleasure to get to know Tim Kaine. He is a fine man. Very thoughtful, high integrity…very much focused on helping the common man. He’s also a pragmatist and surely decided last week to get the best deal he could get to put an end to this ridiculous situation. He represents and knows lots of federal employees not receiving paychecks which surely sent him across the aisle.
". . . a promise from Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, to hold a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies." From this administration? From conservatives? From virtually any Republican (and many Democrats)? Fool me once . . . !
Sure. But not holding a vote puts this on them, while Dems get some things they wanted. A year extension of SNAP means that those benefits won't be at risk when this agreement runs out jan 30
I was one of the raging opponents to this reopening, but cooler heads have brought me, too, the belief that this could be a very good thing. The Republicans are now on the hook to deliver, and if they don't - well, elections are coming up. The people who rely on SNAP are grateful for this settlement, as are the food banks. I hope this minor change brings us much to be thankful for this season. We'll see.
good analysis. I'm not convinced that cuts to health care are a done deal. My assessment is the House is a better place to fight for health care. Its members are vulnerable to constituents opinions. The pain of raising health care costs are going up while the consistent support is falling. Best regards, Asa
Like many, my initial reaction was negative, but the other things included moved me to mostly support the "compromise". Everything Dave says below about Tim Kaine is true. We met several times when he was in local and state politics, and I always found him impressive. Sadly, tho, I suspect that while Thune may live up to the December bargain, there will never be a House vote. I no longer believe that the R's can be trusted ... pretty much about anything they say.
I agree -- and when the House fails to follow through, they'll totally own the result. Kind of like the dog that caught the car he'd been chasing. Now what?
I figure that the folks who have skin in the game (federal workers, people on SNAP, and anyone else who depends on the government in some way) have the right to question what's going on. I have no skin in this particular game, so I decided to wait to judge the people who know more than I about the process.
I frequently find that my snap judgments are flawed because I don't know everything that's going on. Imagine that.
I was angry as well...until I read more about the agreement. There is scheduled to be action on ACA and continued subsidies in December. At that time, we will be in a stronger negotiating position and should there be reneging by republicans they will own the issue. The seven are betting that failure to act then is too high a price for the republicans even if tRump pressures them. The seven are all folks who have said they will not be running again or like Kaine not up for reelection for a while, so there will not be the short term consequence of lost seats for us.
I do believe Kaine and others are smart and are playing the long game, as much as it hurts to have tRump say we "caved". The good news now is for federal employees and those receiving SNAP benefits.
Kaine's not up again until 2030, and I think he'll retire. He'll be 72 and I don't think he's fully recovered from Long Covid that he experienced in 2022. All of the eight Dems who voted for the bill have either announced their retirement, are expected to retire, or considered invulnerable because of their popularity within their state. This was not a casual action by the Dems. It's also true that voters have short memories -- historically, if an elected official wanted to do something controversial or announce somethings potentially scandalous, the best time to do that is right after an election and years before the next election.
During my working career, I had the pleasure to get to know Tim Kaine. He is a fine man. Very thoughtful, high integrity…very much focused on helping the common man. He’s also a pragmatist and surely decided last week to get the best deal he could get to put an end to this ridiculous situation. He represents and knows lots of federal employees not receiving paychecks which surely sent him across the aisle.