Congressional Democrats get something rare in politics: A do-over. A Mulligan. A replay. After Chuck Schumer’s rendition of “Springtime for Trump,” it is crucial that House and Senate Democrats draw line in the sand before the Federal fiscal year ends on September 30th.
Early indications do not look promising. Schumer’s opening gambit was a letter (YES!) urging Republicans to work in a ‘bipartisan’ fashion, as Democrats are always willing to do. House Minority Leader has reportedly been in talks with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-You’re an FBI Informant, Right?) to craft a short-term spending plan that would push out the budget deadline to November or December.
Still Playing the Wrong Game
Even after a decade in the Trumposcene Era, senior Democrats still believe ‘compromise’ is possible with Congressional Republicans while their Dear Leader lounges on the Pompanoesque patio he built down Pennsylvania Avenue. There is no deal to be made with these people, and at long last, Schumer and Jeffries should stop trying.
Ignore interest groups. Damn the donors. Stuff your staff in a closet. Gird yourselves for a government shutdown and go into the fight with your heads held high. If Republicans see all this as a zero-sum game, give them nothing to win. Make them explain why, as they own the government, they can’t manage a regular part of governing. Illustrate their idocy, insanity, and incompetence.
Make your List and Check It Twice
Being prepared to sit out the budget process should coexist with an extensive list of demands. Simply voting “Aye” on cloture to keep the government running isn’t enough. Start with a list of things you’ve claimed to care about and be willing to fight for - and then actually fight for them.
If there is a near-universal complaint from Democratic voters and activists, it’s that their leaders and candidates claim to care about the issues of average Americans and then promptly vote in line with their well-heeled donors. The criticism is accurate.
Choose four or five items at the top of the list for your voters and for the overall well-being of Americans. Medicaid, Social Security, cuts to the VA, the insane ICE expansion, all of these could and should top the menu of arguments you take into meetings with the likes of Johnson and Senator Majority Leader John Thune (R-The Invisible Man.)
Republicans need your votes. They can’t fund the government without them. Make those votes count: Make the extraction process painful and difficult for the majority party; like a dentist removing one of Trump’s dead teeth.
No Time Like the Present
The idea that Leader Jeffries is publicly open to a short-term extension again telegraphs his unwillingness to do the job to which he was elected by his Caucus. As far as Congressional Democrats are concerned, the world should not extend past midnight on 9/30.
What do short- or medium-term extensions get us? Nothing, other than rerunning the terrible reality television show we call Congress. When leadership is already communicating through the media their willingness to find accomodation, why would Republicans do anything other than wait? The GOP knows the Democrats’ number. They’re so wedded to broken institutions and a world that no longer exists, that victory is just a matter of waiting; no fighting necessary.
A Shattered Coalition
The Democratic Party is down in the polls, down in the pocketbook, and down in the hearts and minds of its voters. More than eight months into Trump’s second term, federal Democrats have been both unable and unwilling to grasp the notion and importance of being the opposition party: That is to use every last available tool to slow MAGA’s march.
One result (among many) is that both lifelong Democratic voters and younger, more progressive Americans have lost whatever faith they might have had left after last year’s loss. If Congressional Democrats refuse to fight, are unwilling to risk anything (ANYTHING) for principle, and cannot bring themselves to stand in the way of Trump’s priorities, their coalition will shatter into dozens, perhaps hundreds of smaller, unhappier groups.
Between fecklessness at the federal level, and too many issues dividing the party, a year won’t suffice to put the pieces back together again before the 2026 midterms. Victory next year requires staunch opposition now. Right now.
The Costanza Gambit
To Democratic Congressional leadership, I offer a modest proposal, courtesy of television’s George Costanza.
If every political instinct you have is wrong, the opposite would have to be right. If you’ve capitulated and suffered slings and arrows, then fighting, which you find distasteful and messy, would have to be right.
If hoping against hope that Trump will disappear and the world will go back to normal is wrong, then stepping into the breach with a smile on your face would have to be right.
If lying to your voters and not accomplishing anything on their behalf is wrong, then taking their side and throwing a few punches in their defense would have to be right.
“If every instinct you have is wrong, than the opposite would have to be right.” - Jerry Seinfeld to George Costanza.
Dear Democrats, watch and learn.
The do the opposite episode is one of my favorites. It showed George happy for once! I called my Dem senators and rep’s offices today and said unless they have concessions to codified and signed into law, they need to shut it down. If anything, it slows down some of the biggest damages by this WH.
It should be obvious to anyone paying attention that the Trump regime is betraying America at every turn, and it will take an organized and creative resistance to remove the tyrant and his sycophants from power.
Democrats need to shut the damn government down. Trump's criminal regime is out of control.
Stock up on essentials Prepare yourself for hardships to come. The sacrifices that may be required now in a Hail Mary move to stop the rapidly accelerating spread of tyranny will pale in comparison to the suffering of living under authoritarian rule.
The public needs to enhance the shutdown with intensified protests, boycotts and general strikes. If your union leaders don't support labour walkouts, they need to be challenged for being complicit in crimes against democracy.
Presently, America is engaged in a racially fuelled soft civil war. There is little hope that justice will prevail and resolve the blatant attacks on liberty, as the Supreme Court has demonstrated its subservience to the radical right.
Stopping the flow of funds to the government, the banks and the billionaires may be one of the last peaceful options in your arsenal.
THE 4:00 AM WARRIORS (by John King)
With sleep filled eyes, I press the key.
To illuminate the dark.
Coffee in hand, fonts enlarged.
I search for that “Breaking” spark.
Inbox overflowing, with updates and news.
From others who hardly sleep.
Weary warriors, whose weapon is ink.
Exposing subjects deep.
Comments, likes and criticism.
The obligatory MAGA troll.
A country’s frayed nerves and fears revealed.
With each new page I scroll.
America’s palpitating heartbeat.
Desperately seeking how to begin.
The daunting, unprecedented task.
Of defeating the enemy within.
Republican’s agenda of hatred persists.
Dissent and protests nation wide.
Roses for Russia, thorns for Ukraine.
Staunch support of Israeli genocide.
Veterans abandoned, Transgender pain.
America first, a shameful lie.
Societal safety nets discarded.
The impoverished left to die.
Liberty and justice vanishing fast.
Racism reviving civil war past.
Where are the leaders in the land of the brave?
Boldly step forward, democracy to save.
To stop the tyrant, who desires the crown.
All hands on deck. Shut the government down.