The Collaborators

Let's take a look at the 3 bills Boehner and Cantor put together as part of their strategy of just funding the parts of government they agree with (while cutting off the governmental functions-- like Social Security and Medicare-- they hate). Tuesday they offered 3 with no hearings or debate and they needed 2/3 to pass. All three failed. They passed them Wednesday with simple party-line majorities but Tuesday they just needed too many Democrats and most Democrats saw through their shenanigans. Most... but not all. The Blue Dogs and New Dems were, as they have been all year, lined up with Boehner and Cantor and their toxic Wall Street agenda. Needless to say, for example, there is no funding bills for the EPA or the CFPB on the horizon… and the New Dems and Blue Dogs could care less.

The first of the 3 bills was to fund veterans' benefits and it failed 264-164, with 33 Democrats crossing the aisle. Then came appropriations of funds for the District of Columbia and that was the closest since some normal Democrats backed it as well but it failed also, 265-163. The third loser was a bill to fund national parks, the Smithsonian, the National Gallery and the Holocaust Museum and it went down 252-176, with 22 Democrats for and one Republican, Don Young (R-AK), voting against. Only 17 Democrats crossed the aisle on all three votes, these usual suspects:

• Ron Barber (New Dem-AZ)
• Ami Bera (New Dem-CA)
• Bruce Braley (Senate candidate-IA)
• Cheri Bustos (IL)
• Andre Carson (IN)
• Bill Foster (New Dem-IL)
• Pete Gallego (New Dem/Blue Dog-TX)
• Joe Garcia (New Dem-FL)
• Lipinski, Jr. (Blue Dog-IL)
• Jim Matheson (Blue Dog-UT)
• Mike McIntyre (New Dem/Blue Dog-NC)
• Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL)
• Scott Peters (New Dem-CA)
• Jared Polis (New Dem-CO)
• Raul Ruiz (CA)
• Brad Schneider (New Dem-IL)
• Kyrsten Sinema (New Dem-AZ)

One of the worst of them, Arizona New Dem Kyrsten Sinema, who attempted to pass herself off as a staunch progressive last year to Blue America-- we saw right through her-- went so far as to tell her constituents that the shut down is the fault of both parties. "A government shutdown is an abandonment of Congress' basic duty, and that’s shameful. Arizonans are angry and I don't blame them. I am angry. Time has run out and both parties are responsible. Every single effort by the House and Senate must be a step towards finding common sense and middle ground."

Technically, she's correct. A small handful of Democrats-- herself included-- voted for the shutdown along with the Republicans. But she joined the insurrectionist party that consciously wants to bring down the government. She hasn't earned reelection-- and its important to understand who she's thrown her lot in with. Let Chris Hayes and his guests help you understand: