Trump got what he wanted with the 43-day shutdown. Democrats didn’t get any SNAP money or Obama Care subsidies. But this is not the first time they have surrendered. For years, Democrats have favored reconciliation on all fronts, but Republicans have consistently ignored them.
What about election fraud in the 2000 presidential election? Did that happen despite Al Gore getting 540,000 more votes? What about Mitch McConnell’s maneuver in 2016 to unseat Democrats on the Supreme Court, creating a situation where Republicans have six justices and Democrats have only three, even though Democrats almost always win the popular vote? And what about the fact that Washington, D.C., a Democratic city with a larger population than some red states, has no representation in Congress? And what about Obama’s refusal to capitalize on public sentiment by bringing justice to Cheney and Bush for their torture in the CIA black hole? This measure would have toppled the Republican Party after its defeat in 2008.
Gavin Newsom now talks about fighting fire with fire, but Democrats should have started using that strategy decades ago. The real reason they don’t do so is that they prefer to face a strong Republican Party in a two-party system pitting the center against the right, rather than risk opening up space on the left of the political spectrum. Moreover, with a Republican veto in Congress, corporate-funded Democrats have an excuse for not enacting the reforms they supposedly advocate.
