A U.S. Senate candidate from Texas is putting Senate Democrats on notice after siding with Republicans to end the government shutdown.
Democrat Colin Allred, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives currently running in hopes of ousting Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, called out Democrats during a campaign event in Dallas on Monday, Nov. 10.
His comments came after a handful of Democrats voted with Republicans on a bill to end the current government shutdown that did not include an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, an issue at the heart of the stalemate for the last 40 days. Republicans have insisted they will take a separate vote on health care subsidies, though such assurances are far from guaranteed.
Democrats had vowed to hold out until Republicans agreed to extend the subsidies, but on Sunday, Nov. 9, seven Democrats and one Democratic-leaning Independent abandoned ship and sided with GOP senators.
The vote represents yet another break between Democrats and their base, which could spell trouble during the upcoming midterm elections.
During the Dallas County Democratic Party’s annual Johnson–Jordan Dinner, Allred criticized the seven Democrats for “turning their backs on millions of Americans who were relying on them to keep their health care costs from skyrocketing, including 4 million right here in Texas.”
“Let’s be very clear: the biggest divide in our party, as I see it, is not between moderates and progressives, or even old versus young,” Allred said. “It’s between those who believe that the old, broken ways of doing things in Washington still work, and those of us who have come to understand that this moment in our history demands more.”
Allred called on Democrats to have “more fight” and “more focus.”
“Because you can’t tell people that you’re fighting for their health care and then just fold and say, ‘Well, Donald Trump promised us he would help us fix it later,'” Allred said. “The guy who was willing to let millions starve — because that’s what happens when you cut SNAP benefits — we’re going to trust him? The guy who’s building a ballroom to sip champagne while working people can’t afford the basics? The guy who just pardoned everyone who tried to help him overturn the election in 2020?
“That can’t be what we become.”
Despite Senate approval of the bill, the Democratic Party faithful have at least one silver lining: Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, where grit among Democrats has been more plentiful than in the U.S. Senate, are unlikely to sign off on the plan.
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: US Senate hopeful Colin Allred slams Democrats for folding on health care in shutdown vote
Reporting by Adam Powell, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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