Dems Rescue of Trump's CR Bill was One More Nail in the Party's Coffin.
The party's base and many angry former Trump voters want resistance, not capitulation.
“You don’t say there’s a fire, and then you give the arsonist a match and gasoline. And that’s effectively what Chuck Schumer did.” — Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid
Party reaches new low with voters
The Democratic Party has reached an all-time low in popularity in the latest national NBC News poll. The party is searching for a path forward after its painful election loss to neo-fascist Trump. But now, as its base prepares for a fight between its leaders in Washington and Trump, the new poll shows only 27% of registered voters have a positive view of the Democratic Party. This is despite the fact that Democrats hold a 10-million edge in the number of registered voters.
But by voting for Trump’s rotten CR bill, Chuck Schumer and top party leaders like Dick Durbin once again underestimated the depth of frustration and anger at the base of the party. This isn't just about a single vote, and it’s not even just about Schumer and Durbin. It’s about the broader message that the vote sends and the general lay-low approach the party has taken since the elections.
Democratic strategists like James Carville have been advising Democrats to “lay low”, "play possum," and “go limp” in the face of Trump’s assault on democratic rights.
In a time when bold resistance was called for, the rescue of the CR bill was nothing but a capitulation to fear. There is no telling how damaging it will be to Dem candidates in upcoming elections.
The Republican bill has provided a “blank check” for the White House to keep defunding and dismantling government services and agencies. While it may have averted an immediate government crisis, it left Trump and Musk free to continue their disastrous Project 2025 assault on government workers and social service funding.
Schumer, along with other Democrats who voted for the bill, justified their decision as a way to avoid a government shutdown. Schumer described the bill as "very bad" but believed that keeping the government running was the “lesser of two evils.” It isn’t. In fact, most voters still believe a shutdown is likely.
But now, in the aftermath, I don’t hear anyone cheering the Democrats as “the party that saved the country from a shutdown.” This is especially true after party leaders failed to support Rep. Al Green when he stood up to the joint secession of Congress and railed at Trump on the issue of Medicare cuts. Ten Democrats even joined the MAGAs in censoring Rep. Green, and Democratic advisor David Axelrod even called Green’s courageous act "despicable.”
On the contrary, Schumer, who was supposed to be touring the country this week, signing and selling copies of his new book, instead was forced to postpone the whole tour over “security concerns.” More specifically, the concern was that young activists, angry at his decision to acquiesce to Republicans’ recent government funding bill, were planning large protests at every event.
As Democratic voters watch in dismay while Trump and Musk dismantle the federal government and explore new frontiers of authoritarianism, they see few encouraging signs from too many of their leaders. The three living Democratic ex-presidents, Clinton, Obama, and Biden, haven’t been heard from since Trump took office. Kamala Harris has been mostly invisible. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose presidential ambitions are no secret, is chatting it up with far-right activists and commentators on his new podcast.
MSNBC reports:
It’s undoubtedly embarrassing for Democrats that their Senate leader is ducking scenes of being called a coward by voters in his own party. But the very fact that the party’s base is so livid at its leadership could be good news. Recent history tells us that anger may be crucial if the Democrats are to come back from their current lowly position.
Calls are now mounting for NY Congressmember Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to primary Schumer. But the problem is that Schumer’s current term runs until 2029. If AOC were to challenge him, it wouldn’t be until the 2028 election cycle. Who knows if there will be anything left of the party by then?
Groups, including Indivisible and Pass the Torch, are calling for Schumer to step aside. Eleven activists with Sunrise Movement were arrested at Schumer’s D.C. office as they urged him not to “compromise on our lives and futures.”
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What to do now? A possible answer from Bernie Sanders:
"In the Democratic Party, you’ve got a party that is heavily dominated by the billionaire class, run by consultants who are way out of touch with reality. The Democratic Party has virtually no grassroots support.
"So, what we are trying to do is, in one way or another, maybe create a party within the party, of bringing millions of young people, working-class people, people of color, to demand that the Democratic Party start standing with the working-class of this country, and take on the very powerful corporate interests that have never had it so good."
I’m not sure how to pull that one off, but anything is better than this.
