Stop Whining, Move Forward – Talking Points Memo

The Democrats cannot and must not be a wrecking ball - because it is not Trump and the GOP that we would be wrecking:  it is the effectiveness of government - for which we stand.  Government stoppages - like that we just saw - are a tactic that cannot be sustained.  How long and how often are you going to withhold the paychecks of soldiers, sailors, and federal employees?

 As Norman Ornstein and Thomas Mann warned several year ago "it's even worse than it looks".  The message: the Republicans have become an extremist anti-government party, uninterested in governance but committed to making it ineffective.  Now the wreckers have elected a President.  That he's a wrecker himself increases the marginal cost but basically he's their man and they're sticking with him.

The Democratic Party is the minority - the opposition party.  It is the party of government - the one that believes in government and is committed to defending the gains won: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, environmental protection, personal liberties, and the protection of women and minorities. 

That is their job and throwing wrenches into the machinery does not advance the necessary functions of government - on the provision of which the future of a progressive agenda rests. - gwc

Stop Whining, Move Forward – Talking Points Memo
by Josh Marshall

The fact that Democrats believe in government and have constituencies who depend on it, both as federal employees and beneficiaries, makes the dynamics of the shutdown waiting game inherently different and more difficult for Democrats. This is certainly a disappointment. Democrats have essentially agreed to punt and come back to the same challenge in three weeks. Democratic self-flagellation gives President Trump an opening for bragging and chortling. None of that is fun.

But the takeaway here is wrong. I don’t think it’s right to see this as Democrats trying to replicate the Tea Party playbook. They could try that. Many Democrats would like to see them try it. But they actually haven’t. The particular dynamics of the Senate mean that Republicans require 60 votes for some budgetary legislation. (The only reason they needed it in this case was because they wanted to pass their tax cut with 50 votes.) 

But look at the alternative. If your takeaway here is that Democrats were trying to shut down the government what you’re really saying is that Democrats must vote yes on any continuing resolution no matter what is contained in it. That is obviously an untenable position. What we’re losing sight of here is that, yes, Republicans control the entire federal government. This amounted to legislative hostage taking in reverse.

Look at the big picture.

Democrats are in the same position they were a week ago. Listen to people talking this morning and you would think that Democrats surrendered their leverage and a major point of policy and suffered a damaging political blow. Neither is true. Trump’s high-fiving Stephen Miller and talking shit on Twitter doesn’t really matter as anything more than a head game. It’s conventional bully tactics. It doesn’t move votes. It only has an impact to the extent you bring to the table an internal drama about Democratic ‘toughness’ and forget that being in the minority is hard.

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