Democrats resist ending the shutdown as FAA reduces flights at major airports by 10%.
Democrats, fresh off their victories around the country, now feel emboldened to rebuff any Republican efforts to end the shutdown.
The radicals feel vindicated in resisting calls to end the shutdown. “We are winning the hearts and minds of the American people,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told Politico. “We’ve come this far and the American people seem to be with us.”
This is a delusional reading of the election results. Voters didn’t support Democrats because of their reluctance to end the shutdown. This election was about the economy, not Washington game-playing.
Still, the Democrats’ newfound gonads will present problems for Republicans. The stakes on Obamacare subsidies just went up substantially, making the prospect of a deal with Republicans remote. There’s a solid phalanx of Republicans who want to cut Obamacare subsidies, if not eliminate them. Now, Democrats don’t feel they have to accede to the GOP budget hawks.
The Trump administration has added to the pressure to end the shutdown by announcing on Wednesday that the Federal Aviation Administration will reduce flights at about 40 major airports by 10%. The shortage of flight controllers has gotten critical, and in the interest of safety, the government will force air carriers to reduce the number of flights.
