Voters Need To Remember The Trump/GOP Shutdown

The fourth GOP government shutdown since 1995 ended last night. (At least temporarily.) I can guarantee you that the GOP and the media will never talk about the Trump shutdown again. It will go down the memory hole. The GOP will need amnesia to win in 2020.

Newt Gingrich shutdown the government two times in 1995–96 in an effort to coerce President Clinton to sign a budget that would have cut Medicare to fund tax cuts for the rich. Gingrich was forced to cave and Clinton didn’t let the voters forget about Gingrich’s extremism during the 1996 election cycle. Clinton was easily re-elected 49% to 41% in the popular vote and by a 379 to 159 margin in the electoral college.

In 2013, Ted Cruz led a GOP shutdown aimed at taking away insurance from 20 million people and bringing back pre-existing condition clauses. Once again, a GOP shutdown failed but it cost the economy $24 billion and 120,000 jobs.

In the 2014 cycle, I believe that Brad Ashford and I were the only Democrats who ran against the GOP government shutdown. Brad’s victory in CD02 was a rare bright spot in an otherwise dismal cycle for the Democrats.

Next year, we can’t let the voters forget that Trump, Fischer, Sasse, Fortenberry, Bacon and Smith shutdown the government for 35 days for no reason. They brought the air transport system, the IRS and the federal courts to the brink of disaster. Moreover, they almost pushed economy into a recession.

In 2020, we need to constantly remind the voters that the Republicans intentionally hurt millions of Americans in an effort to force the taxpayers to fund a wall that was supposed to be paid for by Mexico. This irresponsible shutdown clearly demonstrates that the GOP isn’t fit to govern. As Democrats we need to refresh bad memories. That is our job!