Right now, we have a high-stakes game of poker going on with the GOP and Democrats, and I believe we have hit that “all-in” moment.
Democrats have backed themselves into a corner on this one, and the very people they say they are defending are about to get crushed if that continuing resolution (CR) is not signed.
Without that funding, the SNAP program (food stamps) gets suspended, and millions of recipients will have to figure out how they are going to put food on the table.
This is what happens when you rely on the government to put food on the table, and Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) seems to think that Democrats will take the brunt of this hit if that CR is not signed.
He stated, “I do believe that there’s a critical mass of my fellow Democrats that are dug in and now, until there’s an absolute ironclad kind of a deal. And I do fundamentally believe [Senate Majority] Leader [John] Thune is an honorable guy and I do believe we could have a sincere conversation after we can open it [the government] up.”
He then added, “And then, we don’t have to do this three-card monte, about, you know, do this, do that, do the other thing.
“Let’s just open it up, and then we have our SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program], we have everyone’s [sic] paid. And then we can have that conversation and see if we can extend those tax credit deals because I do believe there are enough Republicans that would like to see that too.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) was on CNN this weekend, and Jake Tapper put him on the spot on this subject, asking him if he is willing to let millions of Americans go hungry over this fight.
He responded, “We’re shut down right now because Republicans are refusing to even talk to Democrats about a bipartisan budget bill. As you know, the reason we didn’t shut down for four years when Joe Biden was president was because Democrats negotiated with Republicans, and every single one of those short-term or long-term funding bills included both Democratic and Republican priorities.
“So the government shut down because Republicans have done something unprecedented: they have refused to talk to Democrats about a bipartisan budget.”
First, he did not answer the question. Second, Republicans have been more than willing to talk, but Democrats are in all-or-nothing mode on the Obamacare tax subsidies. If Dems were being reasonable, the CR would be signed, they would have a one-year extension on the subsidies, and could start negotiating permanent reform.
According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are about 42 million people who receive some form of assistance from the SNAP program, or about 15% of the entire country.
So, aside from the question of why 15% of the country is on an entitlement program, these are the people who are going to struggle to put food on the table because they rely on the government to fill their bellies.
The USDA announced, “Bottom line, the well has run dry. At this time, there will be no benefits issued November 01. We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats.”
So, the clock is about to expire on this in about 72 hours, and if it does, I hope the American people see through the Democrat smoke screen and hold them accountable. I just don’t see how Democrats can risk this hit, so I am leaning toward a settlement before the end of the week to fund the government. If not, one party is going to take a massive hit. I think it will be the Democrats, but we have to wonder if GOP leadership is willing to play this game of Russian Roulette with so much at stake.
