Mike Lawler wants you to know that the Democrats are hypocrites, and that they’re the ones driving us off the government shutdown cliff.
This is just a bill to keep the government funded at current levels for 8 more weeks, says Lawler. A “clean continuing resolution (CR).” Never mind that two Republican senators also voted against Lawler’s squeaky clean CR.
Mr. Clean says he wants to allow time for negotiation, and to avoid the damage of a shutdown.
Should the Democrats really expect good faith negotiation in the next 8 weeks? Let’s remember what happened in March, when we had our last government shutdown crisis. The Republicans forced Democrats to swallow a dirty (i.e., highly partisan) continuing resolution in order to avoid a shutdown. As Democratic Senator Patty Murray of the appropriations committee said at the time:
“Democrats did not have an ounce of input into writing this bill,” Murray said. “In my time in Congress, never, ever has one party written partisan full-year appropriations bills for all of government and expected the other party to go along without any input.”
We know what ensued after that bill passed with Chuck Schumer’s help. Trump refused to spend funds authorized by Congress, slashed government agencies to the bone, and even forced Congress to rescind previously authorized funds.
What are the current signs of good faith from the GOP? Trump cancelled his meeting with Democratic leaders this week, saying, “I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive.” Speaker Mike Johnson cancelled sessions of the House for the remainder of the month, before funding expires on September 30 (much like he did to avoid a vote on the Epstein files). And the White House is threatening mass firings if the Democrats don’t capitulate.
I’m convinced that everybody in politics takes a hypocritic oath when they join the profession, Mike Lawler not least among them.
His Magic Eraser is not enough for us to forget the many commitments he made to not cut Medicaid, then voting to cut it by more than $1 trillion. Or his commitments to not cut Medicare, then proposing to phase out the ACA tax credits in one year. Or his crusade against the federal deficit, as he voted for a historic $3T+ deficit increase to favor tax reductions for the wealthy. Or his abdication of all Congressional spending and tariff authority to a single unstable genius. Where was his compassion for the hard-working constituents in his district when he made these decisions?
I agree with Lawler wholeheartedly: “The American people deserve honesty, consistency, and above all a government that works for them — not one that lurches from crisis to crisis because each party believes the rules only apply when it’s politically convenient.” Unfortunately, he has facilitated just the opposite.
A small Lawler refresher from February:
Don’t be fooled by Mr. Clean and his Magic Eraser. His “clean” CR won’t clean a thing. And when the government shuts down, he’ll be covered with grime just like the rest of us.
Rule of Lawler 