Copyright Augusta Free Press
Not everybody is upset with Tim Kaine for helping craft and push the U.S. Senate compromise that will give Republicans an out for taking trillions out of our healthcare system and pushing health-insurance premiums up dramatically for average families. There’s Ben Cline, for example. “After 40 days of unnecessary hardship, Democrats have finally recognized that their government shutdown strategy was a failure. Sadly, it came at the expense of our troops, SNAP recipients, and federal employees who bore the brunt of their political brinkmanship,” the lame-duck Sixth District MAGA congressman wrote on his socials on Monday. And then there’s Jen Kiggans, a lame duck herself as the congresswoman in the Second District, representing Hampton Roads. “After 40 days of this senseless government shutdown, I’m glad the Senate reached a deal,” Kiggans wrote on the interwebs. “I voted on September 19th to fund essential programs like SNAP and pay federal workers, including our troops. I continue to be appalled that Senate Democrats risked flight safety and the welfare of veterans and families for political gain, but I am glad that this funding bill is one step closer to the President’s desk.” In case you missed it, Tim – they’re trolling you. ICYMI Tim Kaine to critics of his Senate shutdown compromise vote: ‘They’re wrong’ Kaine, who was elected last fall to a third term representing Virginia in the U.S. Senate, was a key player in the one-sided compromise making its way through the Senate that will have Democrats stand down on their pledge to fight for the American people to preserve a sliver of the gains in the healthcare sector made under Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Donald Trump and congressional MAGAs gutted Medicare and Medicaid in the summer, and are dead set on allowing premium tax credits available to people enrolled in the Affordable Care Act marketplace to expire. That’s what congressional Democrats were fighting for, with the continuing resolution to fund the federal government – made necessary because the Republicans who run Congress can’t get a full-year budget bill passed – as their point of leverage. The compromise crafted by Kaine gives up the game, in exchange for a promised show vote in the Senate on a healthcare bill that we all know will go nowhere. “I asked my progressive colleagues in the caucus, do you think another week of punishing SNAP recipients is going to make the Republicans cave, and will another month make them cave? Will another two months make them cave?” Kaine told reporters on a conference call on Monday. “And look, you can answer that question differently than I answered it, but no one gave me any evidence to suggest that the Republicans would engage in the healthcare discussion until government was open. And so, at some point, you know, you have to assess what is happening and make a judgment call. And I did, and I sure don’t mind being criticized for a judgment call.” That’s a good thing, that he doesn’t mind being criticized – because the critics are legion. “I couldn’t vote for something that didn’t address the healthcare crisis that is imminent,” Virginia’s senior U.S. senator, Mark Warner, said Monday. “Virginians are already seeing their rates double and triple, who buy through the marketplace. I’ve heard too many stories about the untenable personal crisis people are going through at this point. So, I was not only a no, but I was a strong no. We’ve got to continue this fight on healthcare. We’ve got to continue the ability to try to make Virginians’ and Americans’ lives more affordable.” “Forty-one days ago, the Republicans who control the White House, the House and the Senate chose to shut down the government rather than address the healthcare crisis they created. In doing so, Republicans chose to pit federal workers and those who rely on the services they provide against the millions of Americans already struggling with high costs who now face the prospect of losing their health insurance,” said Richmond Democratic Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan. “Either way, the American people suffer,” said McClellan, who is coming down firmly on the side of “Congress should pass a bill that both reopens the government and prevents massive increases in health premiums.” “From Day 1 of the 119th Congress, I have stood with House Democrats ready to pass a bipartisan funding bill that meets the needs of the American people, lowers costs and addresses the health care crisis facing this country. The Senate proposal is not that bill. I will vote no,” McClellan said. Another no vote is coming from Northern Virginia Democratic Congressman Don Beyer. “I will be voting no on Senate Republicans’ proposed continuing resolution in the U.S. House,” Beyer said, just getting that on the record there. “Republican leaders have turned their backs on Americans facing rising healthcare costs and refuse to engage in serious negotiations toward real solutions for the affordability crisis their own policies created. I have said from the beginning that my goal is to end the shutdown in a way that protects Americans from skyrocketing health care costs, and this bill fails that test.” “The American people deserve responsible legislation that ends the shutdown, prevents skyrocketing increases in health care costs, ensures our public servants receive the pay and protections they are legally owed, and upholds the Constitution. Anything less leaves American families, our federal workforce, and our democracy at risk,” Beyer said. Kaine, to his credit, to his detriment, probably a little of both, is committed to the path that he helped craft. “I learned in my first month on the city council, I had a vote where people I really cared about were on both sides, and I learned that in life, you’re going to cast votes in this line of work where you’re going to make some people on your side unhappy. And I really agonized about that the first time I had to do it. I’ve had to do it about 5,000 times since then,” Kaine said Monday. “I act in a way that I think is in the best interest of Virginians,” Kaine went on. “I don’t need to court anybody’s approval, and I don’t need to fear anybody’s judgment. If people think I made the wrong call, then it’s a free country, and you know, there’s no guarantee I’m right. But what I’m telling you is, what I’m hearing from Virginians this morning, including our governor-elect, is, Thank God you did this, so, you know, I’m not, I’m not the judge of my own behavior, others are, and they can judge all of my votes. But I feel very, very good about this one.” I know personally that not everybody Kaine heard from and interacted with on the compromise was of the “Thank God you did this” mindset. “The decision was very tough, and I don’t question anybody else’s vote on this,” acknowledging the differences between himself and Warner, who are close, politically and personally. “Sen. Warner and I talked extensively. He knew that I was voting yes. He knew that I was leading this negotiation around federal workforce protection. The issue for all the Democrats was, was this enough? Some of us concluded it was. Some of us concluded it wasn’t. I have been sharing my rationale with my House Democratic colleagues, and I suspect that some of them may have different points of view about this, but that that that doesn’t worry me. I feel really, really good about my vote.” At least one person does.
