Senator John Thune’s Weekly Column: When Will Democrats Say Enough Is Enough?
When Will Democrats Say Enough Is Enough?
By Sen. John Thune
Democrats now have the extremely dubious honor of instigating the longest and most severe government shutdown in American history. More than six weeks ago, Democrats chose to shut down the government rather than vote for a clean, nonpartisan funding extension. The American people have suffered the consequences of Democrats’ recklessness, day after day. But as the shutdown dragged on, the Senate Democrat leader was boasting that every day was getting better for Democrats.
Over the last six weeks, the American people have faced growing uncertainty and chaos. Federal workers have gone without their regular paychecks for over a month, and many have turned to food banks to feed their families. Air travel has been a nightmare due to air traffic control staffing shortages. Thousands of flights have been delayed, and millions of Americans have been stranded at airports. Beginning on Day 38 of the shutdown, in order to keep the skies safe, the FAA required a reduction in air traffic across the country. That means more flight disruptions, supply chain issues, and hundreds of thousands more Americans dealing with cancellations every day.
Then there are military families and veterans. November is the month that we honor military families and celebrate Veterans Day. It is shameful that Democrats’ shutdown has forced service members to go to food banks in order to feed their families, that veterans can’t access certain VA programs, and that Veterans Day celebrations are being canceled throughout the country because of Democrats’ shutdown. Not to mention that when they were given the opportunity to pay America’s troops through the shutdown, Democrats shamelessly voted no.
Democrats have shut down the government, they say, over health care. For six weeks, Republicans have been abundantly clear that we are willing to have discussions about health care – just not while the government is being held hostage. But Democrats refused to take yes for an answer. And that’s because at its core, this shutdown isn’t really about helping Americans. What this has really been about is Democrats wanting to show the far left that they’re “fighting” President Trump.
The longest and most severe government shutdown in history is because Democrats would not take yes for an answer. All of this pain and chaos could have been avoided but for Democrats’ need to satisfy far-left activists. The American people deserve better than to be mere leverage and collateral damage in Democrats’ political games.
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Former State Representative Byron Callies reached out to let me (and voters in his district) know that he will be seeking re-election for District 5 House of Representatives for the seat he had formerly been elected to in 2022.