ICYMI: Even Jon Stewart Thinks Schumer’s a “Human Flat Tire”
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In an op-ed published by RollCall, David Winston, the president of The Winston Group, lays out the facts behind Democrats’ big-government push to extend wasteful, COVID-era premium subsidies for Obamacare plans, set to cost taxpayers $400 billion over the next decade.
Congress should let these subsidies expire—as Democrats originally intended—and rein in waste, fraud, and abuse to protect taxpayers.
WORD ON THE STREET
If you’re a Democrat, you know you’re in deep trouble if you lose the king of late-night comedy, Jon Stewart, in the middle of a pitched battle with the Republicans. But that was the brutal reality check delivered by Stewart to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer last week, with Stewart calling Schumer a ‘human flat tire’ for Schumer’s woefully ineffective messaging over the government shutdown…
Despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s offer to discuss the enhanced subsidies issue as soon as government reopens, Schumer and Jeffries have refused to budge on their demand for a permanent extension that would add $350 billion to the continuing resolution.
Schumer and his fellow Democrats had an opportunity to make these enhanced subsidies permanent with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act three years ago but chose not to. After using the legislative process to minimize the impact of Republican votes dealing with the Affordable Care Act, the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act, they now expect Republicans to do their job for them, make the subsidies permanent, and are willing to keep the government shut down indefinitely, regardless of the economic and national security impacts ahead.
Schumer and the Democrats expect, with Republicans having the White House, Senate and House, to accomplish what Democrats could not do when they had the White House, Senate and House.
Given the Democrats’ prior three exclusions of Republicans from participating first in the health care law, then the American Rescue Plan and then the Inflation Reduction Act, their current ‘my way or the highway strategy of not allowing a vote to temporarily fund the government seems equally dismissive of the role of Republicans in the legislative process.
There are no winners in the shutdown, especially the American people.
THE BOTTOM LINE
House Republicans are fighting to reopen the government responsibly, with a clean, nonpartisan continuing resolution.
As Chairman Arrington said:
“Democrats are demanding $1.5 trillion in new spending on woke and wasteful policies—health care for illegal immigrants, DEI and Green New Deal programs, and welfare without work for able-bodied adults. It’s time for Democrats to put the country first, do the right thing, and end the shutdown.”
