Sen. Joni Ernst’s appeal for unity — “Let’s pray we can all get along, get it over the finish line” — on Newsmax’s The Record with Greta Van Susteren is exactly the kind of no-nonsense, get-to-work message Americans deserve as a January 30 funding deadline looms. Conservatives should applaud a senator who puts country over theater, urging lawmakers to finish the job so families don’t pay the price for Washington’s dysfunction.
That January 30 date isn’t hypothetical political theater; it’s the end point of a temporary continuing resolution that Congress approved to keep the government running after a bruising shutdown, and lawmakers now face real deadlines to avoid another funding crisis. The temporary measures enacted this fall carry the government only so far, and the calendar now forces leaders to make clear choices about spending and priorities.
Conservative voters should be crystal clear: preventing a shutdown is not the same as surrendering to the Democrats’ spending spree. Republicans in the House have pushed stopgap measures that try to hold the line on spending while funding essential services, and that pragmatic approach is preferable to the partisan games that cost taxpayers billions and hurt servicemembers, veterans, and hardworking Americans.
Still, Washington can’t get a pass for its repeated habit of kicking the can down the road; Americans are tired of temporary fixes and last-minute deals. We need a Senate and a White House that refuse to be blackmailed by brinkmanship but also won’t torch the economy or stop critical services with reckless shutdowns — a balance Sen. Ernst’s comments sensibly reflect.
If congressional leaders truly mean what they say about fiscal responsibility, they’ll use this January 30 deadline to demand meaningful reforms, roll back wasteful spending, and attach real accountability for federal programs. That’s not extremism; that’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars — and Republicans who cower from that fight betray the voters who sent them to Washington.
Let this be a clarion call to every patriotic American: contact your senator and representative, insist they end the habit of crisis-driven governing, and support leaders who will work across the aisle only to deliver tangible results for families, veterans, and small businesses. The country can’t afford another shutdown, and neither can the conservative movement if it wants to keep fighting for limited government and prosperity for future generations.
