[Quote is from the Op-Ed in The New York Times on January 21, 2018 by Michael Tomasky]
Mr. Tomasky has put his finger on why we are having a shutdown right now The Republicans control all three branches of government. They are trying to run the government as a one-party state like Russia and China. It isn’t working. Give and take is required. They refuse to negotiate in good faith with Democrats. DACA can’t wait. The shutdown had to happen and It has to continue until there is an agreement. We can’t kick the can down the road on this, on the budget, and on health care.
The Republican party has been taken over by its militant wing. Those willing to talk, negotiate and solve problems have been driven out. Look at their response to failing to bully Democrats into accepting yet another budget extension without negotiating on DACA. They have doubled down, demanding the government be reopened on their terms before they will negotiate on DACA. They weren’t negotiating before! Now they have put out a vicious TV Ad equating immigrant reform with criminal murders.
In the face of these dishonest bullying tactics, you either fight or fold. Wringing your hands and saying: “can’t we just get along” hasn’t worked. It never works with those who distort the truth and lie to gain their ends. You either stand your ground and fight or let them win.
We have all witnessed the Republicans for the last nine years effectively block any reasonable negotiations on fixing health care, immigration, infrastructure or indeed any of America’s many needs. They subjected President Obama to a continuous assault on every effort to work together. Two obvious examples were refusing to allow a vote in the House on the bi-partisan immigration bill passed by the Senate, and McConnell’s refusal for eleven months to allow a confirmation vote on the President’s nomination of a new Supreme Court Justice. Both would have passed.