Gill's comments sum up the conservatives' view: The protest has little to do with policy substance and everything to do with forcing action on the SAVE Act. As long as the blockade continues, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will have to rely on Democratic support to pass any bills that originate in the Senate.
Chuck Schumer couldn't hold his senators together at a time when their unity and toughness were essential. And at a time when they were winning: most of the public was blaming Republicans for the shutdown, and pressure was growing to reopen the government (flight delays were mounting). Does this mean Schumer should go? Yes. But the issue runs deeper. There's a fundamental asymmetry at the heart of American politics. Democrats are undisciplined. Republicans are regimented.
In the dog days of August in Washington, D.C., with Congress off on its district-work period, the House still convenes biweekly pro-forma sessions, in which a handful of straggler representatives assemble in front of an empty chamber. When I watched one unfold on a recent morning, the Speaker pro tempore presided over the customary reading of a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, and the legislative day concluded within five minutes.
