The Democrats blinked first in the ongoing game of chicken between the two political parties, signing a stopgap measure that reopened the government following its brief shutdown. The initial shutdown occurred due to the ongoing conflict over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Democrats desire a permanent fix to the legislation that would protect the young immigrants. They refused to sign any bill that did not reenact DACA, despite the carrot of CHIP dangled by the Republican Party. CHIP — Children’s Health Insurance Program — provides much needed aid for young children and is long overdue. Democrats assailed the measure as using an essential health program as political capital and refused initially to sign such legislation.
However, after public pressure on both sides, moderate Democrats and Republicans signed a temporary stopgap bill. The bill extends CHIP an additional six years, and suspends revenue sources for the Affordable Care Act, crippling ObamaCare further. The Democrats also negotiated for a discussion of immigration in the future in the Senate, however, such a concession is not binding and appeared meager in comparison.
The stopgap measure incurred harsh criticism from both the extreme flanks of both parties. Liberal groups lamented the capitulation and the perceived political blunder of the Democratic Party. “Last week, I was moved to tears of joy when Democrats stood up and fought for progressive values and for Dreamers,” said Frank Sharry, the executive director of America’s Voice, an immigrants’ rights group. “Today, I am moved to tears of disappointment and anger that Democrats blinked.” Conservative Republicans, on the other hand, criticized the failure to resolve defense spending in the measure.
The fallout from the brief shutdown affects both political parties. However, many political pundits believe that the Democratic party received the brunt of the damage. The party took a firm stand with the belief that the American people supported young immigrants in America, but this appeared to be a fallacy. By signing the temporary measure, Democrats had hoped to alleviate public pressure.
As political turmoil swirled around the shutdown, the White House did little to improve the situation. The White House has failed to make clear its plans for the bill and has frustrated Republican congressmen with its lack of message. As the current resolution nears its expiration, both parties look to the White House to make clear its expectations.
Despite the momentary bipartisanship, no permanent solution has been put forth. The same arguments persist, and another shutdown looms imminently. As the stopgap comes to a close, only time will tell what the next round of negotiations will bring.
