Rep. Chris Pappas says the current government shutdown has left Granite Staters “struggling to put food on the table,” that “40 million Americans could lose SNAP” benefits, and that “our troops shouldn’t have to worry about missing a paycheck because” of a government shutdown.
“It’s past damn time for House Republicans to do their jobs, pass legislation to pay our troops, and reopen the government,” Pappas posted.
But on Wednesday, he’s going to vote to keep it closed.
It shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, Pappas voted to shut down the government to begin with, and he’s repeatedly reaffirmed his support for Senate Democrats’ filibuster to keep it that way.
This is the paradox facing Pappas and his fellow Democrats. Their argument is, “The shutdown is terrible. It’s starving families, endangering our air travelers, and abusing our military. How dare you vote to stop it?”
As comedian Jimmy Failla said, “PRO TIP: if you’re gonna call it ‘the Republican Shutdown,’ you’re not supposed to get mad that it’s ending.”
Or vote to keep it going.
The House is tentatively scheduled to vote on Wednesday on the continuing resolution deal that passed the U.S. Senate yesterday, with the support of Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen. Pappas has already announced his opposition.
“The deal reached in the Senate on government funding fails to prevent a massive increase in health insurance costs for families and small businesses, and for that reason, I can’t support it,” Pappas said.
He’s hardly alone.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters Monday he expects his caucus to once again vote to block the short-term spending agreement that would allow the government to reopen, federal workers to get paid, and food aid to flow.
Only a handful of House Democrats are expected to cross the aisle and vote to reopen the government. Among them, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), who represents a heavily pro-Trump district and has already announced that — like Jeanne Shaheen — he’s not seeking reelection.
And despite polls showing that 75 percent of Americans oppose the government shutdown, every New Hampshire Democrat running for federal office next year is with Pappas: More shutdown, please.
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) insisted on WMUR last weekend that Republicans were the ones who shut down the government (every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul voted against the shutdown). She also argued Republicans were the ones with the power to reopen the government, a claim Shaheen, Hassan, and six of their fellow Senate Democrats proved is a blatant lie.
Once again, Goodlander’s not alone. Hassan, Shaheen, the state Democratic Party, and many in the local media spent the past 42 days trying to convince America that because Republicans control the White House and Congress, they were responsible for shutting down the government.
If that’s true, then why did the votes of eight Democrats matter? Why is everyone from Sen. Bernie Sanders to Rep. Ro Khanna yelling at Shaheen? Why has even her own daughter forsaken her?
Because it wasn’t true, and everybody knew it. And Pappas is going to confirm it’s a lie yet again when he and his fellow House Democrats — and not the “right-wing Republicans” — vote to keep the shutdown in place.
Pundits say this is smart politics on Pappas’ part because, even though his position is utterly nonsensical, that vote will protect him from a progressive challenger.
Normal people answer, “What challenger?” Karishma “Globalize the Intifada” Manzur isn’t a serious threat. The last progressive to be a major player in New Hampshire politics was U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, who hasn’t held office in a decade.
Pappas has a reputation for being a “moderate” Democrat. That has always been a triumph of marketing over math. As Republican John E. Sununu is fond of pointing out, Pappas voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi 222 out of 223 times.
He’s going to vote with her again when he tries to stop the government from reopening.
And what will he say when he’s asked about voting to stop soldiers from getting paid and SNAP families from getting fed? What he almost always says.
“No comment.”
