I guess I should be clear that this is for the FIRST government shutdown of 2018. The one that started on January 19th.
There’s a vote at noon today to see if the Dems will cave. Not too much chance of that just yet.
I’m a “Federal Contractor” which means that I have a contract with the Federal government to provide services. When the government shuts down they are prohibited from paying me, thus any work I do for the government during this time is technically illegal.
Actual Federal workers (about two million or so) won’t get paid during this time, but in past shutdowns Congress has authorized that they get any “shutdown/furlough” time counted as paid administrative leave… so chances are that they will be paid anyway. Just late.
Contractors like me are not quite so lucky – any time the government shuts down we have to effectively take vacation to maintain our salary, and of course the government won’t (can’t, really) give us any money to make up for that since we’re not employed by the State. So the vacation time we burn won’t be reimbursed; it’s just gone. No one really knows how many full-time contractors there are out there that will be hit by this – estimates range from 4 to 6 million.
However, on this first day, everything is fairly normal – most agencies have an “orderly shutdown” clause that comes into effect in times like these which means that I can work for up to four hours this morning before heading home. For the last shutdown (2013), only the government workers got to come in for the 4-hour grace period, but this time it’s available to contractors as well… at least for the government entities that I support.
I think this twist to blame the Dems really needs to be thrown back in their face. Hello … you’ve had months to get it done. You pushed an unwelcome tax bill through because you wanted to. All you’re doing now is using this to force the Dems to cave on how YOU want immigration changes done. Screw that, screw the GOP, and screw people who blame others for their own crap.
Sorry to hear about your unexpected/unpaid vacation @Tin_Wisdom. Hopefully they get their asses in gear.
This is a terrible, terrible move by the Dems. They are wasting all the political capital they have accumulated with all of the actions and words Trump has given them the last year, and the Moore defeat.
The problem is, the DACA thing doesn’t affect 99% of Americans. Though I’m sure a lot of people have sympathy for the plight of illegal immigrants, the fact is they are illegal. And if they have been here for 10, 20, or even 30 years, the people affected have had a long time to come up with a strategy to stay here legally.
This is “nice to have” empathetic legislation for the vast majority of Americans. The Dems are starting to realize, too slowly, they have no support for this and it’s a terrible hill to die on. This is so far down the totem pole of things we need to actually spend political capital on that it’s not even visible.
Stupid, terrible decision making for the Dems, giving the GOP and Trump and easy win and easy scapegoat like this. Terrible leadership is exposed in the last week.
Pretty sure DACA is the strategy to stay here legally.
You’re also wrong about how many Americans this affects and how much the base cares. Spineless Dems can forget about being re-elected now. Those days are over. They need to show that they want results and have strategies to attain them.
Also, you’re basically wrong about everything you said from the perspective of the far left. Maybe if Dems can win elections without that part of the party, then it’ll work out the way you said.
I completely disagree and if the Dem leadership agrees with you, they are shortsighted and doomed. They need to drop funding for DACA and move on. Anyone who aligns themselves with this strategy helps the GOP this fall. Terrible leadership. We need better, more capable leaders in the Democratic party.
They’re already fucked. The shutdown happened, if they cave now they’re stupid and weak, instead of just stupid. People like stupid, that’s why we have the government we have.
Maybe, but I think there is a greatef risk that the Democrats once again appear weak. The base of the party wants representatives in there who are finally willing to fight for progressive issues. Democrats have a reputation of being weak-willed, and I don’t think it serves the Democratic’s interest this fall to tamp down on the enthusiasm of the base.
And DACA is a critical issue for the voters, and this is one of the few moments where the Democrats actually have some leverage… that they are giving away for nothing.
I think the answer is somewhere in the middle. DACA is important to the Dems but I am not sure that it is that important to the average voter. It will be spun as the Dems favoring illegals over legals.
I was to start a government job today. And that is now on hold.
DACA is not a critical issue for any voter. Prima Face DACA affects people who can’t vote.
Social security is a critical issue. Medicare is a critical issue. There are so many things above this.
Think about it, what are the Dems fighting for here? I hate to speak plainly and frankly, but they are trying to help criminals. You may think illegally coming into the country is a minor thing, you may argue it shouldn’t be criminal, you can point out how heartless it is to separate those families, and we can have those discussions as a country.
But in the end the Dems have shut down the government to align themselves with criminals, and that is a terrible political move that only helps the GOP. What were they thinking? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
