Well, howdy there, Internet people, it's Bell again.

So today, we're going to talk about why Democrats might be willing to shut it down.

Just a couple of announcements before we get started.

Hey Lucille, stay warm up there in Vermont.

Happy 100th birthday.

Also, please check the link for Project Rebound in the

description. The Republicans in Congress have their dysfunction. It's well known and documented.

The various factions and flavors of Republicans wants different things. Some want deep spending

cuts. Some are worried about hitting

Medicaid, a concern that will likely be heightened by the move against Social Security. Some want

bigger tax cuts for the rich. Any of these factions refusing to go along with either the

continuing resolution or the budget reconciliation could

scrap their plans. But we haven't discussed much is why the Democratic Party seems willing to

shut the government down now. Democrats have generally been against the prospect in almost

every situation. But according to the rumor mill,

Democratic Party leadership has been polling congressional members about their willingness

to not just bluff about shutting it down, but actually go all the way on this one. So why?

The answer is Elon and Doge. The Democratic Party is looking at the

effects of the cuts and freezes and worries that if they don't signal their displeasure in a very

public way, that they'll risk normalizing the withholding of congressionally approved funds.

Perhaps more importantly, they're worried that the public will believe they support the

moves that are disrupting businesses and lives from Georgia to California and beyond.

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