On Thursday’s broadcast of CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) responded to past rhetoric from Democrats against shutdowns and the bad precedent their current tactics could cause by saying that “the government does not have to be shut down” and can be re-opened with negotiations and “we are trying to prevent two million people from losing their healthcare coverage.”
Co-host Joe Kernen said, “[I]n the past, Democrats and government shutdowns, whenever there’s been even a possibility of it, they would stand tall that that’s not the way to do things, always. And both sides, I know how much health care means to you, and I’m not questioning what you’re saying, your sincerity there. But the next time Republicans have something and feel — the opposite side of the aisle — feel just as strongly about something, if they take the tack of closing down the government, not re-opening the government to try to force their opponents to do what they want, it’s a terrible precedent. And I think you know that. And I can’t believe Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) the only one that acknowledges that a shutdown has been something you have taken off the table again and again and again, and, now, suddenly, the ends justify the means for what you’re looking at. And only one person in the Democratic Party has broken with the ranks. It’s like, I don’t understand it. It hasn’t been working well for Democrats with Mamdani or –.”
Kelly then cut in to counter, “Joe, this is pretty simple, the government does not have to be shut down. It doesn’t have to be shut down. We can fix this here in a matter of just a couple days. This could be easily solved by sitting down at the table.”
Kernen then cut in to say, “To get pass cloture, to get past 60, you need some Democrats to re-open the [government]. That’s what’s going to have to happen, Senator. You closed the government down because you want 1.5 trillion for all these different things that Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants, it’s obvious to everyone. Although, maybe you can convince the public that it’s the Republicans, but it’s not.”
Kernen responded, “Joe, we are trying to prevent two million people from losing their healthcare coverage. And, Joe, I think you know this, when people lose their healthcare coverage, some of those people die, other people go bankrupt. We’re trying to prevent this from happening. I’ve seen estimates that you’re talking about tens of thousands of people a year that could have that kind of outcome if this isn’t fixed. And we, very simply, can get this fixed and open the government. And here’s the thing, the president has talked about how he wants this fixed. He wants these subsidies to be dealt with. So, he agrees we should open the government and we should fix the subsidy issue under the Affordable Care Act, and that’s all we want. So, I don’t see what the problem is.”
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