Copyright The Boston Globe
Eight who split from party choose people over politics (unlike a certain someone) I would not have voted, as eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus did on Sunday, to allow the GOP’s continuing resolution to pass, thereby potentially ending the government shutdown (“Senators in deal to end shutdown,” Page A1, Nov. 10). But I think I understand, and maybe even sympathize with, the reason they did so. The impulse that drove this group of eight to break from the party’s position also serves to illustrate a major difference between them and the current occupant of the Oval Office. In the lead-up to the 2024 election, a bipartisan group in Congress crafted legislation that would have significantly addressed the immigration crisis facing our country. However, at the last minute, then-candidate Donald Trump insisted that Republicans oppose the proposed legislation. Why? Quite simply, he didn’t want to lose immigration as a campaign issue; he would rather we all suffer the calamities of inaction than lose a few votes. Sunday night, seven Democratic senators and one independent came to a different conclusion. They believed that demanding an extension of the promise of health care benefits — a big winner for the Democrats from a political-electoral perspective — was not worth the pain and suffering of an extended government shutdown. In a very real sense, they chose people over politics, virtue over votes. Advertisement That’s an impulse I suspect has never made its way into the mind, heart, or soul of our president. Michael Knosp Melrose GOP, president can’t be trusted to protect Affordable Care Act The vote Sunday to move spending bills forward in the Senate without a guaranteed extension of health insurance subsidies is concerning for a number of reasons. First, we can no longer trust politicians and those in power to keep their promises, so one has to wonder whether there will be a vote in December on extending the health care tax credits. Second, even if there is a vote and a deal hammered out, the chances of President Trump signing a bill that doesn’t give him everything he wants is slim. Third, if he vetoes the compromise bill, there’s a good chance Republicans will line up behind him and support the move, shrug their shoulders, and say they tried. Advertisement In other words, this was not the best path forward. People are suffering, but this move could potentially end the Affordable Care Act, enrich Trump’s wealthy insurance industry friends, and leave many Americans without health care. With apologies to Billy Joel: Say goodbye to health insurance, say goodbye, my baby. Donna Qualters Peabody
