Dem
47
GOP
53
That headline is the title of a song written in 1890, by popular banjo player Ike Brown. Here is the fourth verse:
The Democrat says prices now will be higher,
All on account of the Tariff.
The Republican says, "Democrat, you're a liar,"
All on account of the Tariff.
But one thing has gone up, and you can't rub it out,
The Republicans this year have gone up the spout,
And the cause of it all I've no reason to doubt,
Is all on account of the Tariff.
And they say history doesn't repeat itself.
Anyhow, Donald Trump's tariffs are back in the news, specifically some of the tariffs imposed on Canada, as House Democrats want to hold a vote on a resolution meant to end those Canadian tariffs. The resolution has been kicking around for months, but yesterday it took a pretty big step forward.
To understand what happened, you first have to know that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) maneuvered to put a rule in place that kept the House from voting on ANY tariff-related measures. This is rather similar to the rules, back in the antebellum era, that kept the House from so much as recognizing the anti-slavery petitions it received. Anyhow, the tariff gag rule is expiring, and Johnson held a vote yesterday meant to renew it. Three Republicans, namely Don Bacon (R-NE), Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), crossed the aisle to vote with all the Democrats. Presumably, anyone who reads this site knows that Johnson can only afford one defection right now. Three is more than one, so the rule was not renewed. The Democrats plan to use a discharge petition to bring their measure to the floor, and it will probably pass.
This does not mean the tariffs are going away, of course. The measure would have to get through the Senate, and if it did, then it would promptly be vetoed by Trump. It is improbable that there are enough votes for a veto override, but... you never know. A new study from the nonpartisan Kiel Institute for the World Economy reveals that, predictably, Americans are paying 96% of the costs of Trump's tariffs. Meanwhile, the frontline folks, who are hit hardest by tariffs, are hopping mad. In particular, farmers are demanding action from Congress, asserting that the tariffs are squeezing them to death. As a reminder, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas are among the states that have: (1) a lot of farmers and (2) key U.S. Senate elections this year. It's also worth noting that the Democrats have chosen a fairly narrow target, as opposed to going after ALL the tariffs, which means a Republican member of Congress could vote against the White House without it being a scorched-earth moment. It would be a small poke in Trump's eye, as opposed to a piano leg upside his head.
Still, we don't really believe this will ever become law, and Congressional Democrats don't either. They just want to get the Republican members on the record so they can wield that vote as a weapon, pretty much the same way Democrats did back in the midterm elections of 1890. (Z)