There Is No Third Door
The only alternative to "complicity" is withholding votes for lawbreaking.
Let’s set the stage briefly.
Six months ago, Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democratic leadership folded. They provided Republicans decisive votes to fund the government, giving Donald Trump months of runway to consolidate power unobstructed. The Democratic electorate erupted in anger, but what was done was done, and it set the stage for the next government funding deadline, at the end of September.
Then, as anticipated, Trump wiped his ass with the budget Schumer had allowed to pass. He continued unilaterally withholding funds to Democratic constituencies, in violation of the law and Constitution. He kicked off a process called rescission, which allowed Republicans, on a party-line basis, to renege on their agreement to fund Democratic priorities. And he inched deeper and deeper into lawlessness day by day, meeting resistance only in a couple of states with Democratic governors who decided not to be afraid.
Three weeks ago, when it became evident that Senate Democrats were lining up once again to help Republicans fund the government—without even trying to rein Trump in—I examined the political case for folding again, and made what I think is a pretty ironclad counterargument that the party’s conventional wisdom is rooted in a bad reading of mostly irrelevant history: Republicans have been responsible for every significant government shutdown in modern history; each time, in the midst of the shutdown, the public blamed them; never once did they pay a discernible price for it come the next election. And in every one of those cases, Republicans shut down the government to extort some unrelated concession out of Democrats: tax cuts, health care cuts, border-wall funds. In this case, Democrats would withhold their votes for the germane purpose of insisting Donald Trump faithfully execute the laws—including spending laws.
But a week and a half ago, the Democrats’ actual plan became clear. They would ask Republicans, gently, for one thing: to temporarily extend Obamacare’s bonus tax credits, so beneficiaries don’t experience severe premium increases next year. In a letter to their GOP counterparts, they made no mention of Trump’s crimes against the Constitution, his violent assault on liberal cities, his general untrustworthiness. They made just one soft demand, for action on a pocketbook issue hurting America’s Working Families™️.
I’m used to Democrats considering, and then rejecting, arguments for fighting harder. I’m used to Democrats considering, and then rejecting, ideas that might make Trump less popular, hunkering down instead until he self-destructs. But this path they’ve chosen combines the worst aspects of both instincts.
If Republicans accept this request to renew the Obamacare tax credits, Democrats will have managed to fix one of Donald Trump’s political problems for him. If Democrats were to ask for literally nothing, Republican health policy would take effect in its fullness, Americans would feel the pain, and Democrats could say, “see? vote for us, and we’ll fix it.” Instead, they’ve offered, again, to insulate Republicans from the consequences of their actions.
I write “offered,” because it’s possible Republicans will reject the request. No extra funding for Obamacare. Take it or leave it. Filibuster the budget or don’t. Then, Democrats will have to decide whether to fold again. If they shut down the government, Republicans will argue that Democrats are holding the budget hostage to extraneous demands, and they will be correct. Much likelier, Democrats will cave, after having taken less than half a stand. They will have revealed both fecklessness and terrible political instincts. The grassroots backlash will be worse than it was in March.
NERVES OF VEAL
How did we end up here again?
Nobody will come right out and say it, but I think the answer is simply that too many Democrats in Congress, and too many liberal opinion makers, are scared—risk averse, yes, but also scared in a way that is akin to physical fear.
You can even detect it in Ezra Klein’s weekend plea to Democratic congressional leaders: