The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog.

I’ve never been a fan of Chuck Schumer. I find him frequently ineffectual and sometimes fatuous. But in the current intraparty squabble among Democrats about advancing this week’s Continuing Resolution, I regret to say he and nine other Democratic colleagues were spot on. There is no way Senate Democrats should be casting a deciding vote to shut down the U.S. government.

Sure, Democrats and Independents have plenty of reason to be angry. It’s a rotten CR to have to vote for and includes cuts to Medicaid and other programs for the nation’s most vulnerable. The Republicans have been obstacles to responsible governance for too many months to count. They upended one after another appropriations bill drafted with bipartisan support. Last December House Speaker and Trump sycophant Mike Johnson deferred another such bill to March so Trump could have a hand in shaping it. Republicans blew up a compromise in response to Elon Musk’s attacks on the budget. Together the two bullies threatened and coaxed enough spineless legislators to support this miserable means of sustaining government funding until next September 30, and no Democrat – heck, no responsible and rational Republican – should take any joy in the outcome.

This was a no-win situation for the Democrats, pro and con the filibuster to stop the Continuing Resolution to go forward. Too many liberal commentators have been saying that, if the Democratic Senators had backbone, they would have gone to the mat and forced a government shutdown. I can’t accept that as a positive. What would have been the real-world results? When it has happened in the past, it has backfired against those pushing for it, and it would have distracted from attention to Trump’s implementation of the Project 2025 agenda. No surprise that Trump and Musk were lusting for a shutdown so they could use it as a weapon against the minority party. (Note: House Democrats had the luxury of voting No on the CR because the Senate had the last word.)

Democrats have been protesting the President’s radical cuts of agencies providing essential government services. How could they leave hanging out there the veterans, Medicaid recipients, students, children needing food stamps and others dependent on government for their daily survival? What would have happened if the federal courts had been shut down as well? The judicial system remains a line of defense, even if a slim thread to cling to. If the filibuster had been sustained, the resulting government shutdown would have given the Trump-Musk team carte blanche to use their proudly displayed chainsaw even more savagely. They also could have dictated the terms under which specific agencies and functions might have been able to reopen, if and when.

Democrats have to make sure that, despite their collaborating in the CR to keep government open, they are not going away. They must find ways to push back to save those vital services and keep educating the public about what’s really happening. That’s the importance of some Town Halls starting nationwide by Democrats in Republican areas, especially in swing districts. Speaker Johnson has told his minions not to hold Town Halls because large crowds, even Republicans, have been showing up to protest Trump actions. Send the message that it’s the Democrats and Independents who will listen to the people.

Chuck Schumer is an embarrassment because he is a feckless leader without a coherent strategy. He changed his position on cloture from No to Yes just 24 hours after publicly asserting his opposition. But we must be clear. Chuck Schumer is not the problem. Donald Trump is the problem. So it’s up to the courts and the American people to say enough. Things have already gone way too far. Whether it’s supporting mid-term candidates, donating to litigation efforts, or joining growing protests, we all have roles to play in making sure we are not giving up on America and what should be its place in the world.