A group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to vote to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of government funding until late January in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.
[...]
Five Democrats switch votes
In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted in favor of moving forward on the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.
The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. But in the end, only five Democrats switched their votes — the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since Oct. 1.
The Beast won. The spineless crossed the line. Schumer did not keep solidarity, but at least was not one of the turncoats. One supposes New Hampshire and Maine will get SNAP money, or something.
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UPDATE: https://x.com/SenTinaSmith/status/1987698558145864025 Tina did right. Amy too. We will need Peggy Flanagan to carry on the work of fighting the Beast, (when succeeding Tina Smith via winning the DFL primary and the 2026 general election). Peggy can be expected to do a fine job.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont is wading ever more deeply into the Democratic Party’s ideological tug of war, endorsing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota in her contested primary race to replace the retiring Senator Tina Smith, a Democrat. The move is Mr. Sanders’s third endorsement in a competitive primary for Senate.
Ms. Flanagan, who was elected twice as the running mate of Gov. Tim Walz, is facing off against Representative Angie Craig, a Democrat. Their race is one of many primaries next year that will help determine the direction of the party.
In a statement provided first to The New York Times, Mr. Sanders hailed Ms. Flanagan as having “the guts to stand up for working people against the billionaires and the corporate interests.”
Mr. Sanders, 84, an independent, was the runner-up in the last two competitive Democratic presidential primaries. Still one of the party’s most popular politicians, he remains determined to reshape it in his image. He has already endorsed progressive candidates in open Democratic Senate races in Michigan and Maine next year.
His latest endorsement comes a day after moderates in the Senate struck an agreement with Republicans to move toward reopening the federal government after the longest shutdown in history. The deal ignited outrage on the left, including from Mr. Sanders.
Crabgrass earlier endorsed Flanagan, and it is encouraging that Bernie is reaching out to help.
Bernie is a giant for progress for all, and curbing the billionaire oligarchy. Flanagan will fit in. Now if only something could jog Amy leftward we'd be better off for the push. Or awakening, call it either. And hope it happens sooner than later. Amy is on the righteous shutdown side of not appeasing the Beast, which is fine to see.
Can Angie Craig still exit the Senate race and run to keep the MN CD2 seat? Hope she can. Hope she does. She's built seniority. And without her seeking to continue there, that seat is in play -
Out of state Republican and AIPAC money could cascade into the CD2 race, unless Craig decides to run there again. She's not an AIPAC target, those people would shoot elsewhere if she does the DFL party a favor. It seems there should not have been any filing deadline yet against Craig making the move.
If she does, she's got a primary win assured if she'd even face a primary. Otherwise, Flanagan will retire Craig from DC entirely. She should weigh her options. We'll see.
_____________FURTHER UPDATE_____________
Should Craig stay the course, Matt Kline is a good CD2 candidate, and might even be an upgrade.
If Craig defeats Flanagan it would be a major disappointment, should she stay in the Senate race, but if that happens, she's better than a complete Republican. Yes, faint praise, but if she wins the primary, she has the Crabgrass vote to replace Tina Smith. But really, Flanagan is real and progressive. Our favorite.
FURTHER: Flanagan will not accept corporate PAC money. Craig welcomes it. In office Congress critters remember who their major donors were, and grant access.
Kline seems the current CD2 frontrunner who likely will face a primary. What he'd do if Angie reverts is anyone's guess. But Crabgrass reads the mood of distressed people statewide as a Flanagan DFL win no matter what; and hence, Flanagan as Tina Smith's successor.
FURTHER: Flanagan defeating whichever Repubican, and Kline winning CD2 against whoever, are the Crabgrass picks. At a guess it will a GOP primary result, Speaker Lisa and the smarmy lawyer from the Niska firm who outspent Blaha 2022 by 150% and lost, vs Doc Anti-Vax who ran and lost last time with Matt Birk centering his ticket; with Speaker Lisa winning that primary. GOP CD2 winner is anybody's who-cares guess. Kline could lose the general election, but let's hope not.
Make Bernie happy, vote for Peggy in the primaery! Warren is onboard too, so it's gotta be her over Craig.