The Democrats know they have the upper hand on the government shutdown.
The arguments Democrats have made to bring Republicans to the table and end their shutdown have focused on the issue of health care, but there is also a deeper principle at work that resonates with a majority of Americans.
Since the Republican tax cuts for the wealthy, paid for by cuts to health care legislation, the issue of fairness has simmered beneath the surface.
Why should the American people pay for tax cuts for those who already have the most by losing their health insurance, or at best face exponentially rising costs?
During an interview on CNN’s This Morning, Hakeem Jeffries put that question into policy terms when he explained why a one-year extension of Obamacare subsidies wasn’t good enough.
CNN’s John Berman asked: “Are you suggesting that when it comes to Obamacare subsidies, you’re for permanence or broke? If they’re not made permanent, you won’t change your position on the shutdown?”
Jeffries replied:
No, what I’m suggesting is that we need a meaningful, bipartisan discussion, that our position, as expressed in the legislation we’ve introduced, is a permanent expansion of the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits. But we are open to a good-faith conversation to try to address this Republican healthcare crisis. It is ironic, however, that just a few months ago the Republicans passed their one big ugly law, which meant permanent tax breaks for their billionaires, the richest and most prosperous people in the United States of America.
Read more below and watch the full interview.
