# Should Democratic Senators play nice with Republicans and support the continuing resolution? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 12, 2025, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454 "2025-03-12T06:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/221 "2025-03-19T08:18:56Z")
Sheldon Whitehouse, who voted nay, [defends those who voted yea](https://bsky.app/profile/whitehouse.senate.gov/post/3lkjexynfgc2n). Although obviously not everyone is buying it. Though I do wonder, with all the comments elsewhere about how useless legal rulings are against this administration, I do wonder what those people would say would be the use of the CR failing. If nothing matters, nothing matters. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/222 "2025-03-19T11:54:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Trump said it because he’s a smart man. The rest of your post is debatable. This sentence though, if there is any evidence of this none comes to mind. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/223 "2025-03-19T12:13:22Z")
Re last post, the whole thread is evidence. By claiming he was against a shutdown, Trump has deeply divided the Democratic Party. P.S. Trump wasn’t smart enough to figure out how to get a long-term shutdown (while claiming he didn’t want it) this time. But starting October 1, he gets another chance to play the game, and he may get it then. Even a smart wannabe dictator cannot consolidate power all at once. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/224 "2025-03-19T12:32:49Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Re last post, the whole thread is evidence. By claiming he was against a shutdown, Trump has deeply divided the Democratic Party. Yeah, he said he was against a shutdown. I am still not seeing any evidence he said it as part of seem deep strategy other than ‘People don not seem to want a shut down. So, I will say I am against it’ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/225 "2025-03-19T13:46:55Z")
I think this point will be more valid once USAID is back up and running, which has not happened yet and frankly I don’t expect to see. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/226 "2025-03-19T15:26:26Z")
He is Chance the gardener from “Being There”, with evil thrown in the mix. The wrong person at the right time, and too many people assuming an intelligence that is only a reflection of their own desires. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/227 "2025-03-19T15:43:08Z")
He is The Owl Who Was God from Thurber’s story- but evil and filled with hate. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/228 "2025-03-19T15:48:59Z")
But, dems have a direction now! 🙄 > **Schumer: Democrats have ‘a real direction now’** > The Hill > > Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been the target of scathing criticism from members of his own party after voting for a Republican-drafted stopgap spending bill that cut many nondefense programs, says things are looking good for the Democratic Party, which he says has “a real direction now.” > > Schumer told The New York Times that President Trump’s agenda of slashing the federal government to pave the way for trillions of dollars in tax cuts has underscored the Democratic Party’s identity as the party of workers, even though some Democrats fear that’s no longer seen as true. - [SOURCE](https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5198524-schumer-democrats-repositioning/) Schumer needs to retire. Even Nancy Pelosi has criticized him for this. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/229 "2025-03-19T16:08:22Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I think this point will be more valid once USAID is back up and running, which has not happened yet and frankly I don’t expect to see. I don’t think so either. The USAID order says that the agency must reopen its headquarters unless the acting administrator (i.e., Marco Rubio) orders it to remain closed. The order doesn’t say that Rubio could order the agency itself to remain closed but I think it strongly implies it. And that is what I think will happen. It’s unclear to me personally and to many experts on federal budgets exactly how much discretion the current continuing resolution gives to executive agencies about how to spend funds. Several Democratic congresspeople referred to the CR as creating a “slush fund” for the administration to spend as it chooses. If it really is just a slush fund, the administration can close USAID today and direct all its funds to something called “USAID” but which bears no resemblance to the programs it has historically funded and employs none of the same people. To be hyperbolic, perhaps USAID could just become the US agency that bribes foreign dictators on behalf of US companies. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/230 "2025-03-19T17:30:08Z")
I agree with Schumer that events will eclipse this vote: it will be irrelevant during the November 2026 election. I agree with Philly that court pushback is non-negligible: outright rejection of court orders has been limited to the immigration sphere. So far. [I’ve set up a thread tracking Trump’s defiance of the rule of law](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rule-of-law-news-tracking-the-trump-administrations-defiance-of-court-orders/1015732). I therefore agree that removing court pushback over an extended period of time would be bad. Explicit government shutdowns are unpopular though. Exchanging a few days of it for an agreement _or rejection_ of up or down votes on Trump policies might be a good trade. Alternatively, a single Democratic Senator could have withheld unanimous consent. That would have gummed things up, but only delayed matters on a limited time table. My point is that there are a number of unexplored alternatives to an extended game of chicken, which I agree that the Dems would lose. Because the GOP has lost those games every time they’ve attempted a shutdown. At any rate, the Senate Dems will have little to do until September or until recession turns public opinion sharply against Trump’s lawbreaking. It’s time to turn our attention to other levers. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/231 "2025-03-19T17:37:36Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I agree with Schumer that events will eclipse this vote: it will be irrelevant during the November 2026 election. I’ll remember and if I was someone trying to primary someone I would definitely make it a point to bring it up. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/232 "2025-03-19T18:16:46Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I’ll remember and if I was someone trying to primary someone I would definitely make it a point to bring it up. I hope you reflect upon their record as a whole. Take that literally: much of prudent life is weighing competing considerations. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/233 "2025-03-19T18:23:15Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I hope you reflect upon their record as a whole. Fer sure. > **[Democratic Party's favorability hits record lows in two polls after 2024 losses](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/16/democrats-record-low-favorability-republicans-trump/82471412007/)** > > As Democrats continues to recoup post-election, voters are expressing deep dissatisfaction with the party on the left. > The Democratic Party’s latest approval ratings hit record lows in a pair of polls on Sunday, coming after a bruising 2024 election for the party in which it lost control of the White House and Senate. > > An [NBC News poll](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25569109-nbc-march-2025-poll-3-16-2025-release/?q=democrat&mode=search#document/p2) found 27% of registered voters say they view the party favorably − the lowest favorability rating for Democrats in NBC polls going back to 1990. Only 7% of survey respondents said they said they have a “very positive” view of the party. > > Another poll [released by CNN](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/25563079/cnn-poll-political-parties.pdf) similarly found 29% of voters view Democrats in a positive light, a low in CNN’s polling since 1992. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, 63% said they have a favorable view of the party. I think it is safe to say the Dem leadership has failed spectacularly (add in Trump getting re-elected…hell…getting elected the first time). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/234 "2025-03-19T19:16:00Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Personally, I’m not outraged at the Schumer Maneuver even though it was a missed opportunity. Look, Schumer has been a Senator since 1999. I cant even pretend to know what sort of political 4D chess he is playing. I agree that shutting down the government due to a Dem filibuster- which is how the GOP and the media will portray it- is a bad idea. Let us say trump wants a bad budget- and the house manages to pass it- then filibuster it so it wont pass. Stuff like that. But a filibuster that ends up shutting down the government? bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/235 "2025-03-19T19:34:10Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I think it is safe to say the Dem leadership has failed spectacularly This. Has failed, and is failing. Imagine things go really far, to the point where the party is declared illegal and prominent Democrats have to flee the country. Who would our leader in exile be? Not Schumer. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/236 "2025-03-19T19:34:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I cant even pretend to know what sort of political 4D chess he is playing Why assume he is playing 4D chess and not just making a mistake? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/237 "2025-03-19T19:36:29Z")
Playing 2D Candyland…and failing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/238 "2025-03-19T19:39:51Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > Why assume he is playing 4D chess and not just making a mistake? Because it wasn’t only him- it was discussed and debated among Dem leadership. Do you think letting the government shut down due to a filibuster is a Good Idea? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/239 "2025-03-19T19:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Schumer told Annie Karni and Luke Broadwater: “Here’s my hope … after this election, when the Republican party expels the turd of Donald Trump, it will go back to being the old Republican party.” > > According to Karni and Broadwater, of the New York Times, Schumer delivered his judgment over a glass of wine one night in June 2023. With hindsight, the authors add: “If Schumer had seen any of it coming, he had not wanted to face it.” > **[Chuck Schumer clung to belief Republicans would ‘expel’ Trump, book says](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/mar/19/chuck-schumer-trump-book)** > > Even as 2024 election loomed, reporters say, Democratic Senate leader was sure GOP would ‘expel the turd of Trump’ Schumer is stuck in the past and he’s deluding himself that it’s still 1992 and Republicans are just co-workers with a respectable difference of opinion and not fascists trying to tear down democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/240 "2025-03-19T19:52:50Z")
Trump is not smart. Schumer is playing 2D chess. Trump didn’t want a shutdown, because it would make him look bad and he doesn’t like looking bad. But if a shutdown occurred, he would respond vindictively. Because that’s what he does. “You hurt me? I hurt you.” Pretty simple really. So yeah, there would be accelerated firings of people he didn’t like, and slow or nonexistent rehirings of them when the shutdown ended. Then the courts weigh in. Schumer started off by opposing the CR, not making clear that he was going to avoid filibustering it, because the media isn’t detail oriented and that used to work. Then he dropped that strategy, made public statements on TV, wrote an OpEd piece for the NY Times, and voted with cloture giving the GOP votes to spare. Afterwards he didn’t duck and cover, but showed up on The View. He’s put Booker in charge of social media. So Schumer pivoted from an old playbook to a newer but not especially out-of-the-box playbook. The missing piece here is how Republican Senators would have responded to making modest demands. If they turned them down quickly, that might have been a decent maneuver by an opposing party whose role is to highlight the GOP’s contempt for America. If the GOP Senate thirsted for extended shutdown, then the Dems would have screwed themselves. There’s nothing 4D about this. It’s all 2D. 4D would be stepping back and acting in such ways that forces the opposition to respond. I haven’t seen a lot of that by the Dems. I have seen _thinking 2 steps ahead_. I don’t cast too much blame on Dem Congress though. I think liberals have failed harder, spending too much time on twitter and Bluesky and not enough with Indivisible. Also, Fox News has attacked the country since the Iraq War. It’s a foreign controlled business which others half of the country. Other nations don’t put up with this crap, but the US somehow did. Recall that subscribing to cable means supporting Fox News in a big way even if you never watch it. ETA: In terms of skill, I might place Schumer above Kevin McCartney and below Pelosi, Jeffries, Mitch McConnell, and Mike Johnson. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454.md?page=13)