Polls show people don't blame the Dems, but if I were a not-getting-paid federal worker, I would certainly blame them for doing this to me and *then* caving for absolutely nothing.
At Thursday’s meeting, they told their caucus colleagues that they now had ten votes to re-open the government in exchange for no real Republican concessions. At that, much of the rest of the caucus went ballistic, and some of the supposed ten said that, in fact, they were not willing to vote for any such deal.
The leaders of the proposed Democratic cave-in, Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, both of New Hampshire, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, then backed down. Only after that did Schumer go public with his proposal to reopen the government in exchange for a one-year extension of the ACA subsidies, along with a bipartisan commission to figure out a long-term solution.
Republican Senate Leader John Thune (R-SD), who had been led to expect a Democratic capitulation, first accused Schumer of “browbeating” his colleagues but then said later Saturday that talks were continuing.
What was the point of all of this, then? Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing (if they went through with this).
I am sure they are telling themselves stories about how they have "raised healthcare as an issue" or whatever, but that's bullshit of course.