In order to pass their massive $3.5 trillion spending bill, Democratic leaders may need help from Republicans. But Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas told his conservative colleagues not to fall for the Democrats’ tricks.
According to CNN, the Senate will likely have to pass an increase to the national debt ceiling. Such a move would require at least some Republican support to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster.
Democrats are already attempting to set up an ultimatum for Republicans. CNN reported a government shutdown could happen on Oct. 1 if a budget is not passed, which some Democrats want to pin on their political opponents.
“The choice for Republicans, Democrats say, would amount to this: If they block an increase in the national debt limit, they would also risk shutting down the government on October 1 as well as the billions for disaster aid for communities hit hard by recent natural disasters and cash for the Afghanistan evacuation effort,” the outlet noted.
You see, if Republicans don’t back a completely irresponsible spending bill that will plunge the country deeper into debt, they must want to hold back money for natural disaster relief or the Afghanistan evacuation effort, according to leftist logic.
This, of course, is nonsense. There is a perfectly reasonable alternative, which is for the Democrats to negotiate a smaller and more reasonable spending bill.
But as their actions are once again showing, they have no interest in compromise. Cornyn knows this full well, which is why he urged Republicans not to go along with the Democrats.
“Even though this is a partisan spending spree, our friends across the aisle expect Republicans to join them in raising the debt ceiling, claiming that this should be a bipartisan effort,” he said from the Senate floor this week.
Cornyn added that there could be an alternative for Democrats, which would be to add the debt increase to their spending bill. This would allow them to pass it through reconciliation, which is not subject to a filibuster.
However, Cornyn feels congressional Democrats have a vested interest in attempting to gain Republican support.
“They want political cover,” he said. “They want us to help them pull the pin out of the economic grenade that they’re about to toss into the laps of the American people.”
Cornyn pointed out that some Democrats in the House have reservations of their own about the spending bill, which is hardly an encouraging sign.
“The fractures in the reckless taxes spending spree aren’t just deepening in the Senate,” he said. “House Democrats are beginning to wring their hands, trying to figure out if they can justify such extreme spending and taxing. And I must say, it certainly will require some creative thinking.”
According to Fox News, Rep. Stephanie Murphy of Florida is one Democrat who has said she is not sure how the bill will be funded, which is causing her to hesitate.
“I don’t think we can afford everything,” she said. “Unless something changes, I have no choice but to vote no on every subtitle (in the bill) and on final passage … I don’t know how we’re paying for them.”
A Democratic plan summary said that one of the ways they plan to pay for their massive spending spree is by raising taxes on nicotine and tobacco.
According to a 2018 study by Truth Initiative, 72 percent of smokers are from lower-income communities. This suggests they would be disproportionately affected by these tax increases despite President Joe Biden’s promise not to raise taxes on low and middle-class families.
The reckless spending from congressional Democrats is already causing destruction, and Biden wants to continue down the same path. Republicans should avoid attaching themselves to such policies at all costs.