I will be calling my representatives and letting them know that I would sooner see the government shutdown than see any of these proposals become law.

      • It doesn’t appear in the letter, but is mentioned in the article. The letter also states that there are “more” policies that need to be defunded.

        These policies encompass bans on pride flags, prohibitions on insurance coverage, restrictions on DEI programs, and even the defunding of children’s hospitals that offer gender-affirming care.

      • I see no mention of banning pride flags on this ludicrous list of demands, either.

        There are some states that want to ban displaying all “unofficial” flags on publicly funded buildings such as schools and embassies; this would theoretically prohibit pride flags, BLM flags, flags supporting or opposing other nations, religious flags, NRA flags, nazi flags, stars and bars, or any flags that symbolize an ideology apart from the flags of federal, state, and local governments.

        It doesn’t apply to non-government buildings, so churches, businesses, private residences that aren’t controlled by HOAs, etc, would still be able to display the flags of their choice.

      • We need a catchy soundbite/slogan to call out anti-trans bigots, but I can’t think of anything that’s short enough and still evocative.

        “Punching down on trans youth instead of [fixing real problems]” (Instead of what? Can’t think of anything punchy, no pun intended.)

        Actually, in this specific case, there’s some nice repetition with “punch down” and “shut down”. How about:

        “Shut down the government to punch down on trans kids”

  • In an exclusive released by Axios, Republican sources state that “people are predicting a shutdown.”

    The people who want a shutdown and are demanding policies that violate basic civil rights or else they are going to throw a tantrum are predicting they are going to shut down the government. Wow, it’s like they can see the future. Such clairvoyance.

  • Another disgusting case of Republicans using the country’s well being as a hostage to enact culture war bigotry - but it’s top-tier asshole gamesmanship, that keeps being appeased and rewarded:

    • Demands suicidal internal rules that enforce a lame-duck speakership, chaos ensues.
    • Demands cuts to previously agreed budgeting, largely cutting liberal spending. Tantrum rewarded, shutdown avoided
    • Tries to pull the same trick in the same year, gets snubbed by establishment partisan dealings. Removes McCarthy, installs hardline Speaker.
    • Demands ‘impossible’ border controls, Dems agree to deal. Trump putting Trump first like always, kills the deal so that he can wield that club in the general election. Deal avoided, everyone loses

    And now this. You cannot deal with these people in good faith, this is the end result of appeasement without consequences. Realpolitik and hard power win when met with milquetoast responses, and the left continues to enable these bold plays. Fuck that, mint the stupid coin and let the court decide to tank the global economy or affirm “yes, spending bills mean spending is authorized” and put this to bed