As I write this, the United States government is only hours away from a shutdown. Why is the shutdown imminent? The simple answer is because the Republicans think tax cuts for the rich was more important than protecting health care for Americans.
When the Republicans passed their "big beautiful bill", they partially funded it with cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. These cuts would take Medicaid away from several million people - people who would not be able to afford any kind of health insurance. They also eliminated the expanded help for people buying insurance through the Affordable Care Act. That means the insurance premiums for that insurance would rise sharply - maybe as much as 75%.
Higher insurance premiums don't mean much for the rich (with their huge tax cuts), but it is a serious matter for working and middle class Americans who are already struggling to keep up with inflation of groceries and nearly everything else. Many would no longer be able to afford the insurance.
The Democrats decided to take a stand. They have pledged to block the GOP's continuing budget resolution until health care is restored for millions of Americans by stopping the cuts to Medicaid and the ACA. It is the right stand to take.
Americans won't be happy about the government shutting down. But the Democrats must make their position clear and keep repeating it until the Republicans cave. They must make sure the public understands they will vote to reopen the government as soon as the health care for millions of Americans is assured.
There will be a lot of blame tossed around for the shutdown, but the Democrats will come out ahead as long as the public understands what they are trying to achieve. The people of all states need their health care insurance - even those in the red states.
Republicans angered a majority of Americans by making the health care cuts to give the rich a huge tax break. Allowing the government to shut down because they don't care about restoring health insurance is just going to make that mistake even worse. It will give them the blame for the shutdown, and if they don't cave quickly, could cost them seriously in the 2026 elections.
The Democrats are doing the right thing. I hope they have the fortitude to stick with it.
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