John Thune & Chuck Schumer: Government Shutdown Press Conference

Senate Majority Leader John Thune: "Good afternoon. I think the American people are wondering when the Senate Democrats are going to end their temper tantrum and vote to reopen the government every day that goes by, there are more and more Americans who are getting smaller and smaller paychecks. People work for the federal government. Now, fortunately, the Trump administration has been able to make sure that our troops, our military, gets paid for a while longer. But there are limits to what they can do.

But, they will have a ninth opportunity today to vote open the government. They had an opportunity yesterday and they will have, if necessary, a 10th opportunity to reopen the government tomorrow. All we need, all we need are five courageous Democrats with a backbone who aren't afraid to buck their leadership, who are marching them right over a cliff. 

Chuck Schumer may think that every day gets better for them politically, but I can tell you that is not the experience of the American people. This needs to end. We can end it today. The bill is sitting at the desk. We're going to get a chance to pick it up and pass it open up the government and get to work for the American people". 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: "Well, here we are on day 15 of the Trump shutdown. That's right. It's now over two weeks since Republicans shut the government down because they refuse to negotiate and fix the health care crisis that they themselves created. In fact, House Republicans haven't been here doing their job in weeks. Thousands of federal workers continue to work and not get paid. House Republicans continue to get paid and don't work.

Cost is the number one issue facing American people. How are they going to pay each week their bills and because of Trump's tariffs, because of what they did on electric rates, because food costs are going up so much, and health care is the tip of the spear of that cost increase. And yet Republicans are not moving forward.

The bottom line is they won't even negotiate with us. So that's a premature question. But of course I'm not going to negotiate in public. We need to address the crisis that is afflicting and that's the right word, the American people.

Republicans hold the blame for the government shutdown "because they refuse to negotiate... 

Source:Associated Press covering at the Senate Majority Leader's press conference.

From the Associated Press

But as the Senate Minority Leader said so himself back in March about why he didn't shut down the government then: 

“First I’d say, Sunny, no one wants to fight more than me, and no one fights more than me. We got to fight smart. It is not true — that bill had far less — it was bad, I hated it,” Schumer said. “But it does far less damage to — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are far more susceptible to being eliminated, which is what that horrible Musk — can you imagine this guy Musk, a billionaire, saying $1,100 for a senior citizen is not necessary? Or a Ponzi scheme?”

If you have two choices, one bad, the other devastating; one chops off one of your fingers, the other chops off your arm? So I want to fight, and we are fighting, we’re going to fight every day,” he explained." 

From The New Democrat

So the 1st question here should be: what has changed from March to now October? Like any good lawyer, I'm asking a question that I already know the answer to. This is what has changed in the last 7 months: 

"Because Leader Schumer made the right decision not to shut down the government in March, the so-called Squad (which most of the time looks no more professional and experienced than the Columbia chapter of Students For a Democratic Society) threatens his job and tells him he has to step down, or face a primary challenge... probably from U.S. Representative Alexandria O. Cortez in 2028. She's probably not just the most popular and powerful Socialist, inside of Congress right now (sorry, Senators Sanders and Warren) but probably the most powerful and popular Socialist outside of Congress as well. 

So the reason why the government is shut down right now, even though it gives the power to the President to cut and layoff at will as many people as he wants, during the shutdown, because 75 year old Chuck Schumer (who has been in Congress since 1981, served 9 terms in the House, now in his 5th term in the Senate) is worried about losing his job 3 years from now. So this is just 1 reason why The New Democrat is calling this government shutdown, the Schumer shutdown. Because it's not based on what's good for the country, or even the Democratic Party next year, but what's good for Chuck Schumer's political future... 

From The New Democrat

If you are wondering why I'm posting all this background information and you are thinking that I'm doing it because I'm worried about some insomnia crisis going on in the country (that of course Robert F. Kennedy JR knows nothing about... or, is just denying it) I can see why you might believe that. But there's another reason for it. What Chuck Schumer is doing here (and I think it's now safe to say that he's the distinguished Minority Leader from New York) is taking a page out of Donald J. Trump's. 

Is this how all New York politicians try to govern? Someone you don't like says something bad about you in public, someone you thought was an ally, or just someone you know doesn't like you... and what you do in response is to have them inducted simply because you don't like them. That's what Donald Trump has done in the last couple of weeks. 

This is a little different from Leader Schumer. Instead of cancelling next year's midterm elections, (President Trump hasn't done that yet) because he's worried about his party getting their political tails handed to them, (to be kind) the Senate Minority Leader shuts down the government because he's worried about losing to Alexandria O. Cortez in 2028 and he doesn't like how the Trump Administration governs.

When you were a kid and you wanted to go to some concert or movie or something on a school night with your friends and you knew you would be home pretty late, if you went to it and your parents said you can't do that because you have to get up early next morning for school... perhaps you had the big test or something... what was your response to your parents saying no... or what would you have done? Would you run away from home so you could do whatever you want and not have to listen to your parents say no to you? Some kids have done with with horrible results that soon followed. 

But hopefully you were disappointed but understood why your parents turned down your request. And maybe they said something like: 

"If you do well on the test, you can go to any concert or movie that you want on Friday night and stay out all day on Saturday and go out that night as well. And we'll even give you the money for that". 

That's how a mature adolescent would respond to that and how I think intelligent parents would've handled that. That's would part of the carrot and stick approach to parenting: you lay down solid and understandable rules and expectations for your kids and reward them when they do well. 

But there are times, even when members of Congress can look like immature 16 year olds who think they own the world because they have all the latest fashions and gadgets and follow the "hottest" celebrities. And it's not difficult to see what Congress on a good day, gets around 20% in approval (and with that 20% made up of only meth heads, alcoholics, and mental patients) because being there is almost never about serving your constituents. 

Congress is like some social club that the members love so much that it cost them work and other opportunities because they spend so much time there and love the perks so much. And love it so much, that losing their membership there, would be like someone stealing your home and family on the same day. They can't see themselves out of their club that much, to the point that they will do anything in their power to stay there as long as they can, regardless of how many innocent people they have to hurt. 

I'm not a political psychologist... not sure if 1 even exists. But that's going on with Chuck Schumer right now. The government is shut down right now because he won't let his members vote for cloture on the only bill that has a majority of support in the Congress, to reopen the government. And he's doing all of this because he's worried about losing his exclusive membership to this political club, known as the U.S. Senate and end also ending his membership in the U.S. Congress. 

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