# 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:** 4
**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 13, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/61 "2025-03-13T19:18:16Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Before we get too carried away, that is one op/ed article. I am well aware that the article has an anti Trump slant. It cites facts and evidence. The way Fetterman voted is a matter of public record. His meeting with Trump and joining Truth Social are facts. Unless they fabricated the quotes, those are facts, Based on those facts, I stand behind my earlier reactions. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/62 "2025-03-13T19:22:49Z")
Fetterman seemed to change after he had that stroke. I guess the brain damage must have changed his political beliefs. šŸ˜§ ---
**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 13, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/63 "2025-03-13T19:23:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If it is a clean bill, then the Dems need to support it. The Republican party is currently engaged in gutting or totally shutting down large portions of the government. They are actively assisting or just standing by while Trump destroys our democracy and replaces it with a fascist dictatorship. How does the Democrats voting to keep funding those two things help the situation? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/64 "2025-03-13T19:24:58Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > How does the Democrats voting to keep funding those two things help the situation? Because shutting down the government is what the MAGA morons want. And, it is trump, not the party. Remember, all that stuff DOGE is trying to cancel was approved by a Republican House. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/65 "2025-03-13T19:27:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Remember, all that stuff DOGE is trying to cancel was approved by a Republican House. Trying to??? ---
**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 13, 2025, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/66 "2025-03-13T19:31:24Z")
Where to begin? > [@DrDeth](#): > > Because shutting down the government is what the MAGA morons want. No it is not. They want DOGE to keep ā€˜eliminating government wasteā€™ and to help Trump make this a fascist dictatorship. > [@DrDeth](#): > > And, it is trump, not the party. Since his first term, the Republican party has been remade from an organization with actual principles into the party of MAGA and Trump. Remember what happened to Liz Cheney? > [@DrDeth](#): > > Remember, all that stuff DOGE is trying to cancel was approved by a Republican House. None of them objected to DOGE since it started destroying the government. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/67 "2025-03-13T19:52:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If it is a clean bill, then the Dems need to support it. I had the same thought, so I looked into it. Itā€™s not a clean bill. It provides top-line numbers but is missing almost all of the agency directive language typical to a CR. The type of language that is currently being used in the courts to stop some of the DOGE attacks. This bill removes most of that language, which would allow the executive to move funds within agencies at their whim. There are also a few specific budgetary changes as well, but what I already mentioned is the objectionable part. ETA: and the GOP needs democratic votes because this is not a reconciliation package so it can be filibustered. They donā€™t want to waste one of their reconciliation bills on this since they need it for the tax cuts ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/68 "2025-03-13T19:55:31Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Trying to??? The courts have overruled a lot of it. > [@DocCathode](#): > > None of them objected to DOGE since it started destroying the government. [https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/03/12/congress/gop-senators-support-doge-rand-paul-vote-00227215](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/03/12/congress/gop-senators-support-doge-rand-paul-vote-00227215) > **[As DOGE hammers away at the US government, Republicans stir with quiet...](https://apnews.com/article/trump-musk-doge-republicans-mike-johnson-26ba7e32fb2bc1c054bf20d911aa5a8f)** > > While Democrats have been speaking out against President Donald Trump's federal cuts, Republicans are just beginning to stir. [https://www.axios.com/2025/03/12/house-senate-republicans-trump-doge](https://www.axios.com/2025/03/12/house-senate-republicans-trump-doge) **What weā€™re hearing:** _Several House Republicans told Axios they have succeeded in ā€” or at least contributed to ā€” getting DOGE to reverse certain cuts through private back-channeling._ \*\* Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) said he raised concerns about job cuts at the [Bonneville Power Administration](https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/13/bonneville-power-administration-workforce-donald-trump-resign-severance-hiring/): ā€œWhether it was my remarks back to DOGE or somebody elseā€™s, it got fixed. They ā€¦ hired back 30 people.ā€\* \*\* Said Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa): ā€œWhen we have heard from constituents who have been directly impacted by this in a way that harmed them, I have reached out directly to the agencies and teams.ā€\* \*\* Nunn cited Agriculture Department cuts that ā€œcould ā€¦ have impacted farmersā€ in his district, telling Axios he ā€œtalked to the administration on it, they recognized it, they heard it, and we got those positions reinstated.ā€\* > **[Inside the GOPā€™s careful pushback to Muskā€™s DOGE effort | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/11/politics/congress-republicans-doge/index.html)** > > Congressional Republicans are publicly projecting that theyā€™re in lockstep with the way President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are attempting to slash the federal workforce. But under the surface, some GOP lawmakers are growing concerned by the effort... _Even though Bacon supports the idea of shutting down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the latest agency the administration has [unilaterally](https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/09/business/cfpb-vought-stop-activity/index.html) shuttered, he argued that Trump canā€™t ultimately usurp Congress._ _ā€œCongress has to catch up to the plan or the presidentā€™s plan has to be revised. Because the law is law,ā€ Bacon said. ā€œWe have got to follow the law. If there are things we have to redirect, letā€™s do it the constitutional way.ā€_ ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/69 "2025-03-13T20:02:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > > > > [@DrDeth](#): > > > > > > Remember, all that stuff DOGE is trying to cancel was approved by a Republican House. > > > > Trying to??? > > The courts have overruled a lot of it. The courts cannot overrule a thing that DOGE has not done. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/70 "2025-03-13T20:21:07Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The courts have overruled a lot of it. As I pointed out, this CR removes much of the funding guideline language that requires certain appropriations go to specific programs or activities. Without that language, courts will no longer be able to intervene to require that DOGE follow the law, since they will be. At least thatā€™s my understanding of the situation. The text of the bill itself is so byzantine there is no way to make heads or tails of it as a non-expert. ---
**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 13, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/71 "2025-03-13T21:20:07Z")
Fetterman and Gilibrand are reportedly in with the Surrender Caucus. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/72 "2025-03-13T21:33:22Z")
Theyā€™re already shutting down the government. Whatā€™s the point of funding the government if Trump and Musk arenā€™t following the funding? ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/73 "2025-03-13T21:38:38Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > What the fucking hell? At some point did I die and go to hell and nobody bothered to tell me?? I voted for Fetterman. At the time he said he supported nearly all the things I support. What the fuckety fucking fuck happened? > > At this point, I expect Mayor Parker and city council to announce that they have ended all LGBTQ+ protections in the city and that in keeping with the non violence and tolerance of William Penn, all citizens can convert to Christianity or be executed. Sadly I also voted for Fetterman and have been profoundly disappointed. I feel betrayed. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/74 "2025-03-13T21:39:51Z")
For me the most important factor is that a shutdown slows down everything else. They wonā€™t be able to pass the ā€œbig beautifulā€ tax cut budget bill until they get the government open again. Democrats best strategy right now is to stall, delay, tie things up in court, and force the GOP to come to the table if they want to get anything done. Just like the GOP did when they were the minority. Will the public hold them responsible? Who cares. The GOP has shut down the government multiple times and they certainly havenā€™t seemed to pay any political price for it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/75 "2025-03-13T21:49:05Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Will the public hold them responsible? Who cares. The GOP has shut down the government multiple times and they certainly havenā€™t seemed to pay any political price for it. People blamed Democrats for worldwide inflation just because they were in power in the US. They will blame Republicans for the government shutdown because they are in power. Oh, not all of them will. The Republicans will put out propaganda and many people will buy it. But most people will ask if this is what they voted for. Voters are generally simple people as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/76 "2025-03-13T21:52:59Z")
Actually, I can think of a simpler rule for Senate Democrats. Will your vote make Trump happy? If so, donā€™t do it. Only vote yes when he is complaining loudly about those stupid Democrats harming our country with their awful compromise CR. When heā€™s trying to strong-arm GOP members to vote against it, thatā€™s when you know you have a deal worth voting yes on. Otherwise make them do it themselves. If they have to nuke the filibuster, fine. Democrats arenā€™t getting a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate for a long long time so not having to get 60 votes once they are back in power sounds great to me. ---
**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 13, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/77 "2025-03-13T21:54:46Z")
Key thing to tell your Democratic Senator: Vote no on CLOTURE for the continuing resolution. Updated vote tally on cloture for the continuing resolution: [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/senate-cloture-vote-tally](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/senate-cloture-vote-tally) Explainer on what that means for the current struggle: [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/my-best-understanding-of-the-current-senate-state-of-play](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/my-best-understanding-of-the-current-senate-state-of-play) > There are two votes weā€™re talking about. Thereā€™s the vote on the bill ā€” which is a straight majority vote and basically symbolic in these circumstances. Then thereā€™s a vote on ā€œcloture.ā€ Thatā€™s a weird word. But that basically means the 60-vote threshold, the only vote Democrats can win since theyā€™re in the minority. So the real issue here is the ā€œclotureā€ vote. Forget that itā€™s a weird word and just focus on the fact that it is the real vote in this case. Durbin (IL) has no public position on the issue. Duckworth (IL) has no public position on cloture. There is only one yes: thatā€™s from Fetterman who hails from PA, a state that went for Trump. In blue California, Padilla has told a constitutent that he is No for cloture. Schiff has come out against the CR on substack: just today he came out against cloture. (Iā€™ll email Josh with the news.) The point: this is a fluid situation, and it doesnā€™t break down easily between safe states and swing states. ETA: Schiff: ā€œIā€™m a hard NO on the Republican spending bill. On cloture. On all of it. When a wannabe dictator is trying to seize power, it must not be given to him. Not without a fight.ā€ Yes, thatā€™s my take. Not without a fight. > **[My Vote on the GOP Spending Bill](https://schiffnotes.substack.com/p/my-vote-on-the-gop-spending-bill)** > > I'm a hard NO on the Republican spending bill. On cloture. On all of it. When a wannabe dictator is trying to seize power, it must not be given to him. Not without a fight. ETA2: Fetterman has locked himself in. If you are a PA resident _call him anyway_. And call him again when he does the right thing on a different issue in the future. This is a red alert big vote, but we have a long fight ahead of us as well. ETA3: Senator Schiff: bolding removed, paragraphing removed: > So, for me personally, this is not a hard decision. I am a hard no. I am desperately worried about the direction of this country. We are seeing an executive run away with authority he does not have, merely because he claims to have it, merely because our courts have often acted too slowly to stop him. And now, if we go along with this because we are willfully and willingly ceding him that additional power. I will not go there. Iā€™m voting no. I urge all of my colleagues: Vote no. Echoes of Timothy Snyder. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/78 "2025-03-13T22:01:37Z")
Not without a fight FAFO No more of their dirty deeds done dirt cheap Slotkin - knows how I feel about it ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/79 "2025-03-13T22:08:26Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > For me the most important factor is that a shutdown slows down everything else. They wonā€™t be able to pass the ā€œbig beautifulā€ tax cut budget bill until they get the government open again. This is a not-inconsiderable point. I fully understand the appeal of the ā€œDONā€™T GIVE THEM A SINGLE VOTEā€ position. I just think it needs to be rooted in smart tactics. Dems have so little power; this one thing (the cloture vote) is about all they have. If theyā€™re going to withhold the seven or eight (depending on Rand Paul) votes for cloture that the GOP needs, they need to MESSAGE clearly why. They need to push back against the GOP ā€œthis is about Dems wanting to shut down governmentā€ distortion. The CR bill isnā€™t about keeping government open. Itā€™s about giving Trump/Musk powers to gut the government that they donā€™t yet have. Upthread the head of the largest public workers union (AFGE), Everett B. Kelley, was quoted on the subject. Hereā€™s the gist: > [@](#): > > ā€¦ _if HR 1968 becomes law ā€“ a measure that ignores the administrationā€™s brazen refusal to carry out duly enacted laws of Congress and further erodes Congressā€™s power of the purse ā€“ AFGE knows that DOGE will dramatically expand its terminations of federal workers and double down on its campaign to make federal agencies fail, because there will be nothing left to stop the administration for the balance of the fiscal year 2025, if ever._ If Dems are going to tank the bill they need to message that the bill is NOT about ā€˜keeping government openā€™ā€”itā€™s about ENABLING Trump/Musk to do even more harm to Americans than theyā€™re doing now. . . linked upthread by @Measure_for_Measure [https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/biggest-federal-employee-unions-says-shutdown-is-preferable-to-elon-trump-cr](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/biggest-federal-employee-unions-says-shutdown-is-preferable-to-elon-trump-cr) ---
**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 13, 2025, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454/80 "2025-03-13T22:28:38Z")
I would have replied sooner. I wanted to wait until I was done work so I could give the articles you linked to my full attention. I am unsure, after reading the first article, just what Rand Paul wants. I gather he is opposed to DOGE. I donā€™t know if he objects to the existence and action of DOGE in general or just specific cuts. The Axios article is clearer. A few Republicans object when the leopard eats the face of their constituents. They do not seem to object to the existence of DOGE or cuts that do not affect their home state. I belive one Republican expressed a concern about ā€œnational securityā€, If they explained what they meant by that term, I missed it. From the last link > [@](#): > > And most Republicans echo their leadership on Trump and Muskā€™s efforts, the latest example of how the party has fallen in line behind Trump even when the presidentā€™s actions have directly [challenged](https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/25/politics/trump-fires-inspectors-general/index.html) congressional authority. So, I was technically incorrect. We have Rand Paul, who is objecting to foreign aid being cut. We have a few Republicans trying to keep voters in their state from losing jobs. And we have the rest of the party standing by while DOGE keeps slashing away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-democratic-senators-play-nice-with-republicans-and-support-the-continuing-resolution/1015454.md?page=5)