Okay, this post will assume a couple of things that are by no means a sure thing, considering we’re talking about the Democrats. Still, I’m assuming that even the Democrats can’t blow the election this year, since Trump is doing such a good job of handing the election to them.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to do their damndest to lose in 2020. Bear in mind that they have a hallowed tradition of losing big in years ending in zero, so they can enable Republican gerrymandering. But that’s just the start of it.
Check out this articlefor a rundown of Democratic priorities should they win the House. Nancy Pelosi will be the speaker yet again, and she will pursue, as per usual, Democratic priorities that will strike a chord with no voters anywhere. Why pursue policies with broad public support when you can artificially restrain yourself in the name of fiscal responsibility, even though you know you’re just legislating for show since the genius will veto everything anyway. Why give the public a glimpse of what they could get if they had a progressive government, when you can assure them that the Democrats are committed to giving you more of the same pallid policies if they regain the majority. This is especially discouraging:
Allen also points out that “Pelosi, despite opposition from some progressives, is committed to reviving the ‘pay-go’ (or pay as you go) rule she had during her previous run as speaker, requiring that new spending be paid for by budget cuts or revenue offsets. It’s almost as if she’s hoping to build up a surplus for the next Republican Congress to squander instead of doing anything useful for the American people. This is why more and more people are calling them Democraps instead of Democrats. Except for the hatred of Trump, this plan would keep people from bothering to even get out to vote in November.
So what happened to that “We’re the party that isn’t afraid to think big” thing? No transformative policy agenda here. What do progressives want that Pelosi and her team are ignoring? Obviously, Medicare-For-All, but also free state colleges and universities, spending real money to tackle the opioid crisis, passing a paid medical and family leave program, job guarantee, incentivizing veteran hiring, a massive investment in green infrastructure, moving towards 100% renewable energy, student loan debt relief. Not a hint of any of that in the Pelosi Plan. For one perspective, her plan is more conservative than the Republicans’. They both sing from the same hymnal but the GOP is always ready to abandon fiscal responsibility for their priorities– tax cuts, corporate subsidies, the military– while Democratic leadership is too scared to. Pelosi is sending a message that makes the Democratic Party sound like the GOP of the 1950’s– “We’re the party of responsible budgets. Elect us if you’re mad about Trump and his congressional enablers racking up trillion-dollar deficits with his gigantic tax cut.”
It was just a few weeks ago that Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) told NBC that “The instinct that some Democrats have, which is born out of a sense of responsibility as the ‘governing’ party, is to explain exactly how you’re going to pay for everything and how it all adds up. It puts you at a total disadvantage because you’re already constraining your priorities.” Schatz also said that “the GOP is skillful about never talking about paying for what they want and Dems are always trying to satisfy the 13 people who are doing Third Way work on K Street. It’s a game that disadvantages Democrats. I don’t want to play it anymore.”
It’s nice that Schatz doesn’t want to play that game, but it will be the only game in town if the Democrats win, and it’s the game most Democrats want to play. It boggles the mind that Democrats haven’t figured out the Republican balanced budget con, when it’s plain as day to everyone with an ounce of brains. This approach is a sure fire way to dampen turnout in 2020. Here’s hoping that the new blood being injected into the party will stage a coup and get rid of Pelosi and her geriatric entourage. But I’m not holding my breath.
Post a Comment