Tim Hains writes for Real Clear Politics about one Democratic senator’s response to the federal government shutdown.
Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman told CNN’s “State of the Union” this morning that Democrats should immediately vote to reopen the government and avoid cuts to food stamps, Obamacare subsidies, and airport security.
“Democrats really need to own the shutdown. I mean, we’re shutting it down,” Fetterman said. “I know why they claim they’re doing it—because they want to address the tax credits—and I fully support that. I voted for all of our cars—our causes—every single time. But I refuse to put 42 million Americans into that kind of food insecurity.”
“This is the wrong tactic. It was wrong when the Republicans did it, and it’s wrong now that we’re driving it,” he said. “This is an absolute fail. It’s embarrassing, honestly. If we can’t even keep the lights on like this—come on.”
“It seems like we’re moving against our core values by keeping the government shut down. We’re on day 33 now.” …
… “Now, this is all solved by just reopening our government. The people need to be paid. If we are the party that’s fighting for working people, we can’t be the ones shutting it down. Every single union that’s involved in this is now demanding that we reopen. That’s the side I’m on.
“The four major airlines are also saying we really have to stop this right now. Why would we want to make flying less safe by forcing this kind of situation and making everything that much more stressed? So it’s not something I support, and I don’t want to be involved in it. We need to find a way forward. I do believe we can achieve these tax credits—this is something I support—but this is the wrong tactic. It was wrong when the Republicans did it, and it’s wrong now that we’re driving it.”
