Chuckie Schumer Beclowns Himself

Sen. Chuckie Schumer making fool of himself is nothing new, but he decided to tread on some dangerous ground when he taunted John Boehner about the Tea Party:

Top ranking Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer doubled down on his call for House Republican Speaker John Boehner to ditch the Tea Party after Democrats helped pass a short-term federal funding bill that would have failed without their support because of defections within the GOP.

“Speaker Boehner wouldn’t have been able to pass this short-term measure without Democratic votes, and he won’t be able to pass a long-term one without Democratic votes either,” Schumer said in a statement. “It’s time for him to abandon the Tea Party, and forge a bipartisan compromise.”

Fifty-four House Republicans, many of them Tea Party-backed freshman, voted against a stopgap measure Tuesday that would fund the government for three weeks while the parties negotiate a long-term deal. The proposal included $6 billion in cuts, but did not touch funding for the health care law and other programs that some in the caucus said needed to be included to get their approval.

Schumer said Monday that Boehner “should consider leaving the Tea Party behind” because they “are unwilling to accept anything short of the extreme cuts in the House budget, even if it risks a shutdown.”

I don't think Moses himself could lead Congress to pass another short-term continuing resolution once this one expires. There's no patience for it among many Republicans. And those "extreme cuts" Schumer talks about are such a tiny percentage of the budget to almost be imperceptible. His language will likely inspire more Republicans to tell the leadership they won't agree to another short-term bill.

In reality, even if the spending authority runs out the government will not shut down. In fact, the change will hardly be noticeable to most Americans. Social Security checks will still go out, the mail will still be delivered, the military will continue to function. Only those people visiting national parks or other tourist sites are likely to notice any problems. There's nothing to fear from a government "shutdown".