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.”
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The GOP has a majority, they can pass a budget if they will it. It is not the Dems problem to save the GOP from its own internal squabbles.
And your POV is anything but unique, sir. The Dems are being blamed as masked agents swarm our cities, as aid and research is defunded, and the economy craters. Perhaps this is human nature or survival instinct, to look away from power and place blame elsewhere, but it is not our better angels.
In that article you also give some air to theologist Richard Beck’s “third order suffering”. What he doesn’t mean by that, but should, is the suffering that comes from swallowing right wing media narratives about social disorder.
Who can be happy when the Haitians are out there eating our pets? Why haven’t Democratic party leaders stepped up to deal with that? Yeah, that one has been more or less abandoned, but it’s just the colorful tip of a filthy iceberg.
And why is discomfort about transgenderism considered legitimate “social disorder” but unbridled gun culture (and its awful human collateral damage) gets a pass?
I think progressives, in their desire to empathize and understand, cede too much ground.
Hasn’t the Democratic Party always been a bit dysfunctional? Like ‘herding cats’ as former Rep. Jim McDermott would say. Do not underestimate the GOP/ think Project 2025 and how effective they have been by forcing Democrats to into a corner by defending deportation of ‘evil illegal immigrant gangs, refusing to acknowledge crime in large cities, defending transgender athletes and police accountability. In 2026 the midterm elections are the only way to put the brakes on Trump’s recklessness. I hope the Democrats can disband the circular firing squad long enough to win back the House. In 2028 I hope for a qualified moderate Governor to rise to the occasion.
Let’s talk about the Democratic leadership we want. What would it do differently to win a majority in Congress in 2026 and win back trust in the Democratic party? For example, would Democratic leaders:
1) Continue to ignore Republican talking points (rather than debating them), because they don’t want to “magnify them” (or because they aren’t good at debating complex issues)?
2) Continue to call Republicans names, like “Nazi” or “Deplorable” – rather than challenging Republicans to an entertaining and informative debate?
3) Continue a policy of rarely (if ever) enforcing antitrust law?
4) Continue a policy of rarely (if ever) firing members of their own party who are clearly corrupt?
5) Continue to challenge moderate Democrats who represent rural areas with more liberal candidates, thus, increasing the odds that Republicans fill those seats?
4) Continue the same old same old affordable housing and policing policies?
5) Refuse to continue a Republican foreign policy if it DOES end the war in Ukraine and discourage future Russian aggression BECAUSE they didn’t invent it?
6) Fail to propose budget cutting goals and mechanisms which are better than the Trump administration’s?
6) Allow the Republicans to exploit gray areas in so many laws, i.e., allowing only “disruptive” Republicans to lay off the staff in the agencies which interpret and enforce our laws?
7) Fail to recruit super qualified, articulate and likeable judicial candidates, city council candidates, county candidates and gubernatorial candidates, then mentor them?
Do you have goals of your own for our political party? Please share them.
Victoria — excellent! especially this insight:
“ 1) Continue to ignore Republican talking points (rather than debating them), because they don’t want to “magnify them” (or because they aren’t good at debating complex issues)?”
The most obvious example is the cluster of issues/ideas around DEI & “gender”.
David, thank you for your encouragement – and my apologies for the numbering mistakes. I agree that issues/ideas around DEI and gender should be debated 😉
The original article was about the pros and cons of a Democrat-lead government shutdown. Sorry to go on and on, but I worry that Democratic Party leaders are NOT prepared to answer the question: “what principle of American governance are we defending if we cause a budget shutdown, three weeks from now?”
Democratic and moderate voters ARE aware that a spending shutdown will hurt ordinary Americans and reduce global trust in the US dollar, thus increasing the cost of government borrowing (and inflation). They are also aware that Democrats are in the minority.
Can our leadership tell voters what they can realistically expect to accomplish if they DO cause a budget shutdown? For example, can a budget shutdown force the Trump administration to:
1) Reduce cuts to Medicaid and Medicare funding?
2) Stop its efforts to create a more Kafkaesque Medicaid application and appeals process?
3) Revisit its positions on gender?
4) Pass new provisions to protect the rights of deportees?
5) Stop sending troops to US cities?
6) Stop eroding Congress’ “Power of the purse”?
Note – Because Congress is dysfunctional and very limited in its ability to pass good and timely legislation which it’s members actually understand, I’m not sure that there’s a lot of public support for the principle of Congressional power. And that is SCARY.
At this juncture, Democrats have had had several months to develop their own equivalent of project 2025, i.e., a combined legal, budgeting, and auditing assault on government corruption, unnecessary barriers to job creation, and waste. Have they published anything? Have they developed some sort of consensus? If you’ve read or seen something, please weigh in, here.
Have Democrats reached out to rural areas to ask for feedback on proposed policies like:
1) investments in water storage, water purification, and water use tracking?
2) PFA policy enforcement?
3) government investment in firebreaks – combined with punitive policies against home insurers who pull out of fire prone markets?
4) an agricultural immigration policy which provides a faster path to citizenship for immigrants who take farm jobs in the US for 5 years?
5) a better legal strategy to deport workers who commit serious crimes while they are in the US – legally or illegally?
6) subsidized legal representation for everyone who cannot afford it? (The objective of such a policy would be to insure that all people (regardless of their age, race, gender, health status, religious beliefs, and immigration status understand our laws and regulations AND achieve improved access to justice under US law.)
Other policies Democrats could protest if they cause a government shutdown are:
7) Trump’s request to the Supreme Court for permission to remove Fed Governor
8) Ending ACA credits
Are these appropriate issues to address at this time? Why or why not? Can you share any convincing arguments you have come across online?