How to Break Bad Political Habits

 

By now you’ve probably digested the news that of the eight Democratic Senators who caved in to give Republicans the votes necessary to end the government shutdown. The enduring question is why? The eight– seven Democrats and one Independent who caucuses with the Democrats–can offer all of the disingenuous justifications they want, but the bottom line is that they have handed Trump a major political victory which he will use to blame the crisis on Democrats and liberals. The Disloyal Eight may have sandbagged next year’s midterm elections. The only partial victory the Democrats might have wrangled is a continuation of SNAP benefits. That is if:

 

·      The House agrees to those terms

·      Trump doesn’t throw another wobbly and refuse to sign the bill

 

What was surrendered was a guarantee that the Affordable Care Act would remain in place. Even SNAP could go away as its funding under the (ahem!) compromise bill covers only the period between November 2025 and the end of 2026.

 

I’ve watched the Democratic Party my entire life and it hasn’t inspired substantial confidence or hope since the end of Lydon Johnson’s administration. Oh sure, millions joyfully celebrated the kumbaya election of Barack Obama, the last morally upright president, a man too decent to do things he could’ve done, like make a recess appointment of a new Supreme Court justice when Anton Scalia died. He bet that Hillary Clinton would become president, but we know how that turned out. Instead of the moderate Merrick Garland we ended up with Neil Gorsuch, one of the SCOTUS “originalists” who see the Founders as infallible crystal ball gazers.

 

If you are a Democrat, it’s time to face the music; your party is as outdated as a 1967 Studebaker. As I frequently note, its singular talent is the ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Where’s the pulse? Well, there’s Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, his mentee AOC, and rising star Zohran Mamdani, also a democratic socialist. None of them are mainstream Democrats and Bernie is 81. In all candor, the Democrats are in serious need of a remake represented by 30-somethings like AOC and Mamdani.

 

Let’s look at Democrats who voted with the GOP. If you know this, skip to the end to see what I propose.

 

Angus King (78). He’s an indie but don’t think Bernie Sanders; Maine has odd electoral districting and often splits its electoral votes. King is a lawyer, a two-time governor, and a classic middle of the roader. He leans liberal, but just barely. He won’t be up for reelection until 2030, by which time he’ll be in his 80s.

 

Catherine Cortes Masto (58) and Jacky Rosen (65) are both from Nevada. Let’s call their votes what they are: Senators protecting Nevada tourism. Neither is up for reelection soon. They are concerned about airports shutting down. They’d rather deal with the potential collapse of the ACA than a decline in visitors to Vegas and Reno.

 

Jeanne Shaheen (75) and Maggie Hassan (64) are from New Hampshire, and you might think they’d favor a shutdown as the unofficial state motto is “We aren’t like Massachusetts.” Hassan says her vote was to save SNAP benefits, which would sound more principled were NH not a state currently funding SNAP. Shaheen has called for an extension of ACA. Good luck getting it. What she meant to say is that she’s up for reelection next year and will face John Sununu. For some reason people in NH love the Sununu family like little kids love monsters.

 

Speaking of reelection, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (78) wants another term. You could look at the second most powerful Senate Democrat (after Chuck Schumer) and think “player.” Do Illini really want to give Durbin another term? He’d be pushing 85 at the end of it.

 

Tim Kaine (64) of Virginia is another self-interest vote. After all, Virginia has close to 400,000 federal workers once you count Department of Defense jobs, those on active military duty, and non-military support staff. He is on record of saying he “doesn’t care” if his colleagues are mad at him. This from the man who did Hillary Clinton zero good as her 2016 running mate.

 

John Fetterman (53) of Pennsylvania would normally be a strong presidential contender. Except many in his own party think he’s nuts. That not my slam on him; that’s what they really think. He has had widely reported mental health issues and a stroke. Fetterman is an enigma. At times he channels Bernie; at others he’s as inconsistent as a libertarian. At least he was upfront about his opposition to working without pay. 

 

BREAKING THE HABIT.

 

Republicanism has become the secular religion of conservatives and troglodytes. Democrats are the religion of dreamers without a clue. Party politics are dying and we would do well to pull the life support plug.

 

Here’s how to register your anger about the Great Sellout of 2025: Unenroll in the Democratic Party. Tell the courthouse clerk it’s a protest against machine politics. Most states allow you to request which primary ballot you want, so you can still vote D if you’d like, but “Independent” behind your name lets you avoid a lot of noise. I routinely unsubscribe to emails that try to pigeonhole me and never answer campaign phone calls. When I support someone financially I avoid all official party sites. Vote for younger candidates. A party relying on people my age or (gasp!) older has no future.