#nyt interview

I've been "chewing" on Schumer's decision re the Monday vote and went looking for some understanding. Here is what I found. A shut down is a continuing resolution that Musk and Trump wanted. It would mean that only they could decide when and what to turn back on. It would make their takeover objective much easier. This is an interview in today's NYT. I'm satisfied that the Democratics made a good strategic decision. Crazy times we are living in. jbe

"Senator, a lot has happened since we spoke on Monday, and you’ve been at the center of most of it. In our first conversation, you said you had a plan going forward to fight Republicans, but then, only a few days later, it looks as if your own party is in a civil war. Do you think that you made the wrong choice? I don’t. I think it was a very, very difficult decision between two bad options, a partisan Republican C.R. [continuing resolution] and a shutdown that Musk and Trump wanted. For me, the shutdown of the government would just be devastating and far worse than the Republican C.R. Let me explain: A shutdown would shut down all government agencies, and it would solely be up to Trump and DOGE and Musk what to open again, because they could determine what was essential. So their goal of decimating the whole federal government, of cutting agency after agency after agency, would occur under a shutdown. Two days from now in a shutdown, they could say, well, food stamps for kids is not essential. It’s gone. All veterans offices in rural areas are gone. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. They’re not essential. We’re cutting them back. So it’d be horrible. The damage they can do under a shutdown is much worse than any other damage that they could do.