By Margie Slivinske of Arroyo Grande
Republicans have become the party who says government doesn’t work, then get elected and prove it. I am urging all of our elected Democrat officials – local, county, state and federal – to not extend the American Relief Act on March 14, 2025 and temporarily defund the government.
Democrats, it’s time to stop cowering in the corner saying, “Please don’t hurt us!” Get some backbone and put a pause on this renegade administration being run by an unelected billionaire who is chain-sawing his way through our government, abusing and terrorizing Americans in the process.
Some may think that temporarily shutting down the government is harsh but so is trying to go about our daily lives wondering, and many in constant fear, of what this self-serving man-child will cut next and who will be unemployed tomorrow. That’s not to say that excessive government spending and inefficient program management doesn’t exist. We all know that it does. But it takes more than 30 days and much more than one man with zero actual governing experience to figure out how to fix the issues.
So let’s take a breath and think about what is happening.
Because funding measures require 60 Senate votes for passage rather than a simple majority, this vote on March 14th to extend government funding will be one of the few opportunities democrats will have to push back on behalf of ALL Americans being negatively impacted by this administration’s rush to tear down our government.
We currently have a few Congress people actively pushing back on this administration, speaking out on behalf of immigrants and transgender people. And I’m relieved to see these congresspeople continue to speak out on behalf of these under-represented groups.
However, right now there is NO ONE speaking out or pushing back on behalf of the rest of us. Instead, we have Hakeem Jeffries who said he’s going to “pick his battles” and wait for “the perfect pitch” before he “swings” against this administration, waiting for the important issues. That’s ridiculous as everything this administration is tearing down are important issues. How disappointing he is. And how disappointing the rest of our elected Democrat officials are if they feel that way as well. What exactly is it they are waiting for?
I and most democrats at this point are quickly losing patience with the lack of courage and the lack of ability to act against this regime of terror.
So I am urging democrats to use this opportunity on March 14th to force republicans to the table to work together with democrats to sanely solve the issues we all face. And this starts with all of us getting involved and urging our local elected officials to speak up and let Congress know what we want. When everything around us is lacking integrity, we have to find it within ourselves and change the world right from where we’re standing.
Op-Ed’s are written by community members, not representatives of edhat. The views and opinions expressed in Op-Ed articles are those of the author’s. [Do you have an opinion on something local? Share it with us at info@edhat.com.]
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Hear, hear!
Name calling one side, telling your side to get a backbone and shut down the government, and then telling them to sanely work together to fix issues. Interesting way to get your point across. I agree wholeheartedly with the last item. the first 2 were unnecessary and does not help you get to sanely working together. Civility across parties (elected and otherwise) and sanely working together, that should be the goal.
Hardly possible with the insanity and incivility so prominent among the con dons, and the obsequiousness of the rethuglican pols.
So, you are saying there is a chance. I love your optimism! teamwork makes the dream work.
ZekeW – thank you for taking the time to read my opinion and respond. It’s reassuring to know that when one bothers to express an opinion, there are people out there paying attention, even if they disagree.
I would like to clarify though that I did not call anyone names. Calling Musk an “unelected billionaire” is simply stating a fact. Some may think that referring to him as a self-serving man-child is name-calling but that is also factual about him, in my opinion. And requesting my elected congresspeople to stand up to this administration is simply what I expect from my elected officials. But I understand that you see this as “name calling” and possibly not the best way to ask people to work together. I respect that. I agree that civility is important, however, when civility does not appear to be working, sometimes you just have to say some things to get peoples’ attention. As I said in my letter, when integrity is lacking, we have to find it within ourselves and change the world from where we’re standing. Integrity means being honest, having strong principals, and acting consistently in accordance with your values. And that’s what I’m doing. It may not be the way you would do it, but it’s my way.
Schumer has publicly stated that Senate Democrats will not vote for the Continuing Resolution.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last even 24 hours. I question how the Senate Minority Leader could have done a complete 180 in less than one day on such an important vote for the American people.
“Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.” – Mark Twain
The Senate Minority Leader did not do a 180-degree turnaround….that was his position the whole time. It’s the old “watch what they do, NOT WHAT THEY SAY.” Don’t believe that any pol is on “your side.” Most pols are on their own side regardless of party. Everything is going fine until we get the trombone slide in the chin or worse. How about our local pol who was all pro-weed until he was “found out” after doing so much damage. Thank goodness he finally got the hook.
This is what Schumer said on Wednesday about democrats not passing the CR then the next day said the opposite. I call that a 180 but, like you said, watch what they do, not what they say. Definitely some big-time equivocating by Schumer on this.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/schumer-republican-funding-bill-shutdown
There are no good choices here. Totally between a rock and a hard place. I do think the administration would have further wreaked havoc during a shutdown, and that Dems would be blamed for it. As I said, no good choices here, damned if we do, damned if we don’t. But Americans are getting angrier, which is good. Thanks for your editorial.