Indeed, with the loss of the Senate and President Barack Obama reduced to lame-duck status, Democrats in Congress seem torn between two choices: Dig in, or head to the hills and try to rebuild a guerrilla army.
For sure, Republicans still have their own problems. The GOP lost 67 of its own members in the House vote Thursday night; Senate passage this weekend was stalled by Republican infighting and the open disdain by the Tea Party right toward the incoming Majority Leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
But it’s the splits among Democrats that are the fresh news since November. And like the fading winter light outside the Capitol, these four days in December became their own reality check on what lies ahead for the party: less power over already limited government resources.
“This is the beginning of the new Congress. It’s not really the last fight of the last Congress,” said Miller later. And while he’s now retiring to California, the lessons of November are plain for his party when it comes back in January. “We’re fully aware there are no reinforcements,” Miller said. “There’s no bugle being sounded from our side.”
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