Should Democrats Shut Down the Government?

Readers know that I am a fan of the journalist Ezra Klein. This past Sunday Klein wrote what I found to be a very compelling column. It also appears in a video format, which conveys even greater urgency than the text version.

Klein argues that with the current bill funding operations of the U.S. government running out later this month the Democrats cannot sit idly by. They should throw down the gauntlet and hold up government funding in protest of what Trump is doing.

The Democrats faced the same choice last March. At that time Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer chose not to hold up government funding, which resulted in a firestorm within his own party. Klein itemizes Schumer’s rationale for that decision and admits that if he had had been forced to choose, he would have made the same decision Schumer did.

But this time, Klein argues, is different. No longer is Trump’s authoritarian takeover a possibility, as it was in March when the Trump administration was two months in. Now, eight months in, Trump’s authoritarian takeover, argues Klein, has happened. It is a fait accompli now being consolidated. Writes Klein, “I want to be very clear about what I am saying here. Donald Trump is corrupting the government — he is using it to hound his enemies, to line his pockets, and to entrench his own power.”

But that’s not all. This time around, argues Klein, the Democrats have time to get their ducks in order. With several weeks before the current funding bill expires, they have the time to make a plan and put together a strong message that will gain them the attention of the public.

Is Klein right? Among the people I know and with whom I talk, there is a consensus. That consensus is that we face one big problem: Trump. What he is doing is terrible, perhaps irretrievably so. But I have a bit different take on things than most of my liberal friends.

As I see it we have two problems. One, yes, is Trump, what he has done and is doing. On the bill of particulars I agree with Klein: there is masked thuggery of ICE. There is the militarization of U.S. cities, Los Angeles, and Washington, D. C., with threats of more to come. There is Trump’s egregious self-dealing and personal enrichment. There is Trump’s use of his powers to pardon criminals, go after his critics and enemies, and make the Department of Justice a wholly owned subsidiary of the White House.

But it is my view that we have not just the one problem of Donald Trump. As I see it, we have two problems. The first problem is the Democratic Party. It is leaderless. It has the energy of a retirement facility. The Party shows no sign of having faced up to its own failures in 2024 or of having made serious course corrections.

Moreover, the Democrats, with some exceptions, have failed to get the big issue — social order — that allows so many Americans to give Donald Trump a pass. I addressed this in this recent post, in which I quoted David Brooks, “The central argument of the 21st century, is no longer over the size of government. The central argument of this century is over who can best strengthen the social order. In this contest, the Republicans have their champions and the Democrats aren’t even on the field.”

We don’t just have the one problem that most liberals see clearly, namely Donald Trump. We have a second problem, the current Democratic Party.

Klein describes the Democratic National Committee (DNC) under the leadership of Ken Martin as “an absolute disaster.” He points to its abysmal fundraising record. Since learning that the Dem’s had expended $20 million on consultants to tell them how to talk to men, that’s no wonder. Would you give to a party that uses such exorbitant sums so fecklessly?

Klein ends his piece by saying, “I’m not a political strategist. I hope somebody has better ideas than I do. But it’s been about six months since Schumer decided that it wasn’t the time for a fight, that neither he nor the country was ready. Democratic leaders have had six months to come up with a plan. If there’s a better plan than a shutdown, great. But if the plan is still nothing, then Democrats need new leaders.”

Again, is Klein right? Should the Democrats go to the mat over the upcoming funding bill? When I first listened to Klein’s argument via the video version, I was a definite, “Yes, go for it.” I gave it a couple of days and read the written text, more than once, finding myself less sure that is the right move.

But I do completely agree with Klein’s closing words, “If there is a better plan than a shutdown, great. But if the plan is still nothing, then Democrats need new leaders.”