The political calculus could not be more straightforward, yet the Democratic leadership in the Senate seems determined to ignore it.
The American electorate is not confused; they see a Republican monopoly on power in Washington, and they are holding the GOP solely responsible for this manufactured crisis.
This isn’t mere speculation—it is the unequivocal verdict delivered by every major poll and, more importantly, by the recent electoral rebellions from coast to coast, where voters rejected Trumpism and its savage assault on health care, but spineless Senate Democrats may appear eager to snatch defeat from the jaws of a certain victory.
The Republican implementation of Project 2025 is a moral and intellectual failure. Their agenda is a study in cruelty: a four trillion-dollar victory lap for their billionaire donors, financed by throwing millions of families off Medicaid and pricing millions more out of survival. It is a grift, and a transparent one at that.
And yet, with the opposition on the ropes and public sentiment squarely on our side, a faction of spineless Democrats appears ready to negotiate their own surrender. This is not a time for conciliation; it is a time for unyielding principle.
Any capitulation that does not extract severe concessions is an act of political malpractice. We must not allow the government to reopen until three non-negotiable demands are met:
First, the barbaric, militarized occupation of our cities must end. The federal forces terrorizing American citizens must stand down and withdraw.
Second, the Republicans must fully restore their devastating cuts to Medicaid and extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies for no less than one year. We will not barter the health of tens of millions for a return to normalcy.
Third, and critically, the Democratic Party must impose real consequences on any member of its caucus who would rather cut a cowardly deal than fight for the people they represent. There must be a price for such sniveling capitulation.
Donald Trump postures as the ultimate dealmaker. Fine. Let him make a deal that serves the American people for once. The terms are clear: protect healthcare for tens of millions, end this siege on our democracy, and we can end this shutdown. The ball is in their court, and it is our job to keep it there, not to snatch defeat from the jaws of a certain victory.
Lisa McCormick
https://www.democratsfor.us/