The Shutdown: Who Is to Blame?

Most Republicans voted for a continuing resolution to keep the government open while continuing to work on longer term funding; most Democrats voted against it. Paul Mirengoff, blogging at Power Line, does a good job of explaining the motives of the 5 Democrats and the 4 Republicans who voted against their partys’ preferred position.

Nearly every Republican Senator voted for the bill. The only exceptions were two pro-amnesty Senators — Lindsey Graham and Jeff Flake — and two anti-spending hardliners — Rand Paul and Mike Lee.

Nearly every Democratic Senator voted against the bill. The only exceptions were five Red State Dems — Claire McCaskill, Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, and [Doug] Jones — four of whom (all but Jones) are up for reelection this year.

It begins to look like Alabama’s Jones could turn out to be something not seen in recent years: a conservative Southern Democrat.

Postscript: White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders has labeled it the “Schumer Shutdown.”