Well, so much for the Democrats being the party of good government.

Yesterday, Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats rolled the dice and filibustered a clean short-term CR, thus triggering a shutdown of non-essential federal government operations.

The cloture vote to break the filibuster got 55 votes, with Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Angus King of Maine (who calls himself an independent) the only defectors from the Schumer line. (Rand Paul was the only Republican who joined the filibuster, because he opposes extending spending at current levels without cuts.)

Schumer’s goal is to repeal all of the spending reforms in the Big Beautiful Tax Law (Medicaid work requirements, anti-fraud protections, limiting benefits for illegal aliens, etc) and extend COVID-emergency supersized subsidies to health insurance companies. It’s about a $1.5 trillion soending hole Schumer wants to add to the debt. Federal spending on health care is what is already massively driving up out debt.

Republicans have the moral and fiscal high ground here and they shouldn’t budge.