Thursday's Final Word

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Shutting down -- er, closing the tabs ...

House Democrats gathered Wednesday roughly an hour outside of Washington for a three-day policy conference as they plot out their next two years in the minority. ...

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Underscoring Democrats’ plans for the next two years is their goal to win control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections. The House represents the party’s best shot at breaking the GOP trifecta next year, and while Democrats lost the White House and Senate last year, they managed to narrow Republicans’ margin in the House. 

An Emerson College poll released this week, however, found voters held a less favorable view of the Democratic Party than they did the GOP. And Democrats have struggled so far this year with how best to respond to Trump and his actions since taking office

Ed: Maybe they need more auction paddles and obstruction? More walking sticks to shake impotently for the cameras? Anything but talking with voters and thinking for themselves ... speaking of which ...

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Ed: Nothing says "authenticity" better than amplifying the same talking points everyone else has. Literally. 

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Pete Buttigieg is expected to announce Thursday he will not run for Michigan’s open Senate seat, according to a person briefed on his decision, clearing a path for a potential presidential campaign instead.

His decision was framed by several allies and people in his inner circle as putting him in the strongest possible position to seek the presidency, and based on a belief it would be exceedingly difficult to run successive campaigns in 2026 and 2028.

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Ed: How would he know? He's never run a successful campaign outside of South Bend. In fact, he's barely run ANY campaign outside of South Bend. He spent four years as Transportation Secretary doing almost nothing, even during the train derailment crisis in East Palestine, Ohio. All Buttigieg ever did was amplify the daily talking points from the team running Joe Biden, a cover-up in which Buttigieg likely participated. And again ...

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Ed: Seriously? Does no one in this caucus have an independent thought in their heads? Well, one does -- and it's a surprising example.

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The heat is on for Senate Democrats this week as they weigh whether to support a Republican-led government spending bill that they oppose or to risk being blamed for shutting down the federal government.

And front and center is Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.), who has vowed to support the bill to avoid a shutdown, in a moment reflective of the larger question confronting the Democratic Party: When to fight and when to fall in line?

Ed: The correct answer is: When either choice provides you a real advantage and leverage. In this case, though, Democrats have painted themselves into a corner where they can't win with either choice. That's a failure of leadership. The best way to deal with a Kobayashi Maru situation is to retreat and wait for better opportunities, and better leadership. 

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Ed: And yet, Hickenlooper today suggested that he'd vote against cloture for the CR. They're not learning any lessons about their leadership. Not even in Pennsylvania, as it turns out...

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For those convinced the Tim Walz veep choice defied a better option, that very option — by general acclaim Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro — seems to have picked up a bit of the Minnesota leftist’s weirdo vibe.

Who knows — maybe the public play-acting was a latent talent. And: What else can we expect of Democrats, who have made performance art their raison d’être for participating in our representative republic?

Ed: When they participate at all. If they don't get to be in charge, Democrats these days just take their ball and stomp off, waving auction paddles and walking sticks. It's disappointing to see Shapiro acting less mature than Fetterman.  

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For years, Senate Democrats were vehemently opposed to government shutdowns and always supported continuing resolutions – that is, until the inauguration of President Trump. Now, they are actively and openly pushing for the government to shut down – which is inexplicable considering Senate Democrats supported a clean, continuing resolution just 3 months ago.

The government will run out of funding Friday night for U.S. troops, flights will be delayed and canceled, and essential government services will be delayed or stopped altogether. If Senate Democrats need advice on whether to keep the government open, they should heed their own past statements.

Ed: Via e-mail from Speaker Mike Johnson's office, complete with links. Let's just go with this Chuck Schumer quote from September:

“If the government shuts down, it will be average Americans who suffer most. A government shutdown means seniors who rely on Social Security could be thrown into chaos as the Social Security Administration limits certain services, like benefit verifications or fixing errors in payments. Our veterans could see regional VA offices shut down and support services put on halt. Some of our military service members could be forced to work without pay. Families who benefit from WIC and other nutrition programs could see benefits halted. And a shutdown would shake the confidence of our economic recovery, something we can’t possibly afford at a time like this.”

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Of course, that's when Democrats were in charge. 

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Ed: Again, that's only applicable when Democrats are in charge. 

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The Democrats have become and remain today a “Brahmin Left” party. “Brahmin Left” is a term coined by economist Thomas Piketty and colleagues to characterize Western left parties increasingly bereft of working-class voters and increasingly dominated by highly educated voters and elites, including of course our own Democratic Party. The Brahmin Left character of the party has evolved over many decades but spiked in the 21st century. ...

It has not escaped the notice of many Democratic-sympathizing analysts that this ever-increasing education polarization—Brahminization—of the Democrats presents existential dangers to the party. Not only might the continued desertion of working-class (non-college) voters fatally undermine the Democrats’ electoral formula over time, the party’s fundamental purpose is being rapidly obliterated. What does it even mean to be the “progressive” party if the most educated and affluent voters are your most enthusiastic supporters? What does it mean to be “progressive” if working-class voters think your party mostly represents the values and priorities of those educated and affluent voters not their values and priorities?

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Ed: Read all of this from Ruy Teixeira. Right now Democrats have to choose whether to break out of this path or to embrace it. Right now they are doing neither, and it will keep killing them as their messaging gets more and more incoherent and transparently false. 

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John Sexton 9:25 PM | March 13, 2025
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