GOP senator goes again Vance request

The GOP currently has most things in its favor for the shutdown.

First and foremost, they are on the right side of this, and the American people appear to realize that.

Even so, the SNAP deadline and insurance open enrollment are both quickly approaching, and people are getting nervous, but Vice President JD Vance is asking them to hold firm.

The Marjorie problem

Before we get into the Senate issues, I wanted to address the issues with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

Greene has been asking for the GOP to extend the cuts just as they are in order to get the continuing resolution (CR), and I agree with her.

It is not because I support Obamacare, I do not, but it is because, as usual, Congress waited until the last minute, and I will not hold the American people accountable for the failures of Congress.

Green reportedly told Johnson and party leaders, "You guys need to get out of Washington, D.C., and go back to your districts and talk to real people, because real people are pissed. They expect us to do our legislative constitutional duty and not take marching orders from the political team at the White House."

Ratings are staying strong

Somehow, some way, the GOP and Donald Trump have managed to hold approval ratings during this mess.

Trump has dropped a point or two in some polls, but he has held steady in others, virtually unscathed from all of this chaos.

The GOP, as a party, has actually improved its ratings during this shutdown. CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten stated, “When we’re looking at the Republican Party overall, that brand, actually up two points. That’s within the margin of error, but clearly it hasn’t dropped. Come over to this side of the screen, look at the net approval ratings for Republicans in Congress."

He continued, “It’s actually up five points since pre-shutdown. So what we’re seeing here is the Republican brand in Congress has actually improved somewhat compared to when we were pre-shutdown, despite the fact that Republicans control.”

The cracks

It is very tough to sit in Congress and hold firm when more than 40 million Americans are about to lose their SNAP benefits (regardless of how you feel about the program itself). There are a lot of children on that program, so I get why people are starting to crack.

Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) wanted to pass legislation to fund the program, but it was shot down by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

This went directly against what Vice President Vance had just demanded, stating, "To vote against that is to strip that incredible leverage from the president of the United States. I think it's a huge mistake and I know most of the people in there agree with me.”

Thune held strong, insisting that he will not pass piecemeal legislation. As far as he is concerned, the only solution is for Democrats to pass the CR, then we can talk about everything else.