So when will the shutdown, now the second longest in American history, end?
“Probably when people get in a f—--g room together, right?” Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) told Raw Story.
That doesn’t seem to be in the cards — at least not in the deck President Donald Trump’s holding.
In a show of GOP unity, Trump hosted Senate Republicans in the White House Rose Garden Tuesday, but the goal didn’t seem to be to re-open the government. If anything, it seemed to be to keep congressional Republicans from working across the aisle to re-open the federal government.
“The whole purpose of lunch [at the White House] is to keep all the team together, to make sure that we don't have any weak links,” Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) told reporters at the Capitol.
"Whenever the Democrats want to fund the government, then we're happy to sit down and fix the ACA.”
Democrats aren’t buying that, especially as open enrollment signup — and the sticker shock expected to hit tens of millions of Americans — starts Nov. 1.
‘We're trying to fix a problem’
Even without a formal negotiating partner, Democrats continue ringing alarm bells over the health insurance rate hikes about to hit bipartisan swaths of America.
“People across the country are about to see their health insurance premiums double. That's not changed,” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) told Raw Story. “People are worried about what that means to coverage across the country.”
“Does that strengthen you all in your resolve?” Raw Story pressed.
“I don’t know about strengthening, but the people that are getting hurt are people across the country who are going to have to pay double and triple for their health premiums,” Lujan said.
“That's what everyone needs to think about, and this isn't a Democrat or Republican issue, it's an American issue. This is all over America.”
“Do you think that's going to wake up Republicans?”
“I hope so,” Lujan said. “If they just go talk to their constituents they're going to understand what they're going through.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has promised Democrats he’ll bring those Obamacare subsidies to the floor for a vote — but only after the government is re-opened.
“A vote is such a Washington, D.C. thing. We're trying to fix a problem,” Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said.
“Every week, I talk to more of my constituents who are not going to be able to afford health insurance, so we're trying to fix that. So we need a negotiation — like, a serious one — on, how do we fix this problem?”
Democrats say they know the GOP isn’t serious yet, in part, because Speaker Mike Johnson continues keeping the House of Representatives on an un-scheduled, extended fall recess.
“I’d like the House to come back into session, so we can have this conversation,” Kelly told Raw Story. “They ultimately will have to vote on this.”
Without a “this” to vote on, Democrats feel no real incentive to bend.
“Our position is that we want to help lower insurance costs for Americans, let's negotiate about that, and they keep saying, ‘Talk to the hand,’” Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) told Raw Story.
“Wait until Nov. 1 when people go, ‘Holy smokes, I'm going to be paying hundreds of dollars more a month. I don't have that kind of money.’
“I'm not suggesting that that's, like, our strategy, to wait till Nov. 1. I'm not suggesting that. I'm just saying I just think it's going to get harder and harder for them to sort of maintain this posture of like, ‘I'm not doing anything.’”
Not doing anything to avoid those rate hikes is exactly what many Republicans want.
‘If I've learned one thing from President Trump, it's timing’
“Repeal and replace Obamacare” was the theme of many elected Republicans' past campaigns. The slogan’s all but retired, but that doesn’t mean the sentiment isn’t alive and well.
“Are you worried about these premium hikes hitting folks back in Iowa?” Raw Story asked retiring Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA).
“These are expanded premium subsidies for Covid,” Ernst said.
“So you're ready for them to go away?” Raw Story pressed.
“When people talk about subsidies going away — subsidies are not going away,” Ernst said. “The expanded subsidies are going away, but we still have subsidies. So we want to make sure we're taking care of them.”
One of four Republican doctors in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), says he wants to debate ACA fraud, pricey deductibles and the premium spike facing millions — just not yet.
“There's nothing more broken than the ACA,” Marshall told reporters. "It's a very broken system that's going to take weeks to figure out how to fix that.”
Weeks have passed since the government shut down, House Republicans fled Washington and Democrats’ demanded the GOP partner with them in averting the premium cliff millions of Americans are barreling towards.
Still, to Marshall, Trump and elected Republicans, the time isn’t yet right.
“I'm not sure who's winning the political war right now out there, the messaging, but certainly we feel pretty good about where we are right now," Marshall said. "If I've learned one thing from President Trump, it's timing. He's going to know when the moment's right and it's not yet."
Democrats say that’s their point.
“That's the missing ingredient thus far, is presidential engagement,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told Raw Story.
“There will be external pressure points that will force the president to engage. The premiums issue is going to be a major data point. Air traffic delays and canceling flights, that's going to be a pressure point.”
‘Not actually that far apart’
To Democrats, the emperor has no clothes — after Trump broke with GOP talking points earlier this month.
"We have a negotiation going on with the Democrats that could lead to good things," the president told the White House press corps on Oct. 6. "And I'm talking about good things with regard to health care."
Democrats continue searching for inroads with that President Trump.
“We're not actually that far apart. He's even admitted that we need to fix this ACA situation,” Sen. Heinrich told Raw Story Tuesday.
“So yeah, let's fix it. Let's get the government open. Let's move on. We got other things to do, too.”
Heinrich says Democrats are fighting for Republicans too.
“Those are their voters too,” Heinrich said. “These people do not have room in their budget for another $400 or $500 or $600 a month. They just don't have that money.
“And if we can afford to give billionaires a $3.4 trillion dollar tax cut, we can afford to help working people.”
Lisa Graves (provided photo)
Seth Chandler (Photo courtesy of the University of Houston Law Center)
Lindsey Cormack (provided photo)