CNN host Jake Tapper expressed surprise Tuesday that Democrats were able to convince voters that Republicans were responsible for the government shutdown, even as Democrats repeatedly blocked efforts to pass a continuing resolution.
Former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger defeated Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle Sears in Virginia’s gubernatorial election. Tapper and fellow CNN hosts Dana Bash and Kasie Hunt discussed exit poll data from that race showing that 61% of federal government workers voted for Spanberger, even as Tapper admitted that Democrats were refusing to vote to open the government during “Election Night in America.” (RELATED: ‘Would We Have SNAP Right Now?’: Scott Jennings Confronts Dem Rep Over His Vote To Shut Down Government)
“61% of federal workers say they are voting for Spanberger. As John was saying, it’s what, like 150,000 federal workers in Virginia. But we’re in the middle of a shutdown and people have not gotten paychecks in a month and they’re going to vote,” Bash said. “What do you expect them to be doing? I talked earlier to a Republican who has done a ton of work for decades in Virginia who said, you cannot express in a more profound way how much shutdowns hurt Republicans. No matter what happens, hurt Republicans when Virginians go to vote during a shutdown, it’s just the historical trend.”
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After Hunt implied that Sears was not the “strongest candidate,” Tapper turned his attention to the messaging of Democrats on the shutdown, which occurred due to a Democratic filibuster of the continuing resolution in the United States Senate.
“Democrats are the ones that are not voting to fund the government. Now, I understand why they’re doing so, they’re doing so because of health care and they want to fight, and they want Republicans to negotiate, et cetera, et cetera,” Tapper said. “The messaging by Democrats around this shutdown has been sharper than I’ve seen Democrats on any issue in a long time.”
“They have convinced voters, Democratic voters and independent voters, that it’s the Republicans’ fault,” Tapper continued. “And just on the numbers, that might not be actually accurate in terms of who’s voting to open the government and who isn’t.”
Democrats’ demands for a continuing resolution that would end the government shutdown, which is nearing its fifth week, include over $1 trillion in funding for various priorities, including continuing enhanced subsidies for Obamacare passed during the COVID-19 pandemic and a restoration of cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting included in a rescissions package passed in July.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate minority leader, claimed in comments to Punchbowl News on Oct. 9 that “every day gets better for us” as the shutdown dragged on. Democrats have blocked the continuing resolution 14 times as of Tuesday.
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