Party sticks to its guns on healthcare and says it’s willing to hold out – much to the delight of its progressive supporters
When he sat down to talk about the US government shutdown with reporters from a closely read political newsletter this week, Chuck Schumer sounded as if he was relishing his standoff with the Republicans.
“Every day gets better for us,” he told Punchbowl News. As the shutdown got under way, Schumer explained, the Republican part believed that Democrats would quickly fold and vote to reopen the government, but instead they had stuck to their guns for a week and a half, demanding an array of concessions on healthcare and other issues.
Outrage followed from Republicans, who printed out the Senate minority leader’s remark on posters and condemned it before press conferences. The shutdown has prompted federal agencies to close or curtail operations nationwide, and forced hundreds of thousands of employees to stay home without immediate pay. Schumer, Republicans argued, was being callous.
I’m not nearly that cynical about literally everything the Dems do, but I’m absolutely cool with replacing the 70 year olds. (Schumer is 74.)
Outside of Bernie, they relied on the DNC squashing primary challengers, then being the only option in the general.
That’s why all the big neoliberals are putting on these acts, they’re more scared of midterms than Republicans are. They need to suck up all the oxygen so real progressives don’t heard, and billionaire owned.media is happy to help.
Quick edit:
And for the record, Bernie needs primaried too, everyone does. Healthy primaries is how we make sure we win generals.
If we can learn just this one lesson from the last presidential, we will be in so much better shape.