They wanted to govern, let them demonstrate that they suck at it.
SugarLuxxxe on
Lol, that moment when the other team keeps tripping and your squad’s like ‘Nah, let’s carry you to the finish line.’ 🙄 Can we not?
kneeco28 on
How about saving Americans from Republicans?
Any serious legislator should always do what they can to try and protect constituents healthcare.
Yes, even if their constituents suffering would be good politics for them longer term.
Stereo_Jungle_Child on
Democrats helping out Republicans in any way just proves that they are soft on crime.
mykonoscactus on
Even better: subject them to the punishments they inflict upon others. Alligator Alcatraz for ALL MAGA Nazis and Nazi sympathizers. Dehumanize them. Ban them specifically from health care that everyone else can have.
BTRCguy on
The quote attributed to Napoleon is this or some variant: *“Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.”*
nslvlv on
They both serve the same master and it ain’t us. Until we reverse Citizens United and have strict lobbying reform, our interests are just a whisper to them.
FlowofOd on
Democrats mostly punch left
Devilnaht on
For those who only bothered to read the headline: the opinion piece is arguing that the Democrats should loudly condemn the Republican’s destruction of ACA subsidies, while ‘giving them plenty of rope’ (that is, allowing it to happen). The idea being that the ACA price shock will severely piss off millions of voters, including large groups of people in states set to have special elections in the near future.
It’s… an interesting idea. I’m honestly not sure if I I agree with it or not; a big part of the shutdown, I think, is symbolic: the Democrats finally doing fucking *anything*.
But it also occurs to me that… doing the shutdown might lead to that strategy anyway. If the Democrats eventually cave (which personally feels like the most likely outcome), it will at least have drawn some attention to the ACA issue. When the price skyrockets, people will be more likely to know why because of all of the shutdown drama.
Sharticus123 on
Honestly, the democrats need to step back and let things get bad as fast as possible.
That’s the only chance we have of shocking the public into action. A slow walk to authoritarianism will result in our demise. By the time the public realizes what’s happened it’s too late to do anything.
Let it fall apart now while we still have a chance.
44035 on
In theory, sure. In real life, I’m looking at getting priced out of my health insurance.
notedeghost on
Republicans will always find a way to blame Democrats no matter how obvious the failure on their end. I’ve been watching fox news and boy do they like to sell half truths mixed in with lies.
ShamelessCatDude on
Does The Hill have democrats’ best interests at heart though? 😂
TheJaybo on
Evergreen content.
DyerNC on
100%. Let MAGA burn it down until 2026. People will feel the pain and realize their choice. Economy is a powerful thing in a Democracy. This TRUMPS economy and the bubble is about to burst.
ajcpullcom on
It’s an interesting take, but there are no good options. Fighting the Republicans on this is obviously the right thing to do to save people’s lives and money, but the Republicans will mischaracterize and run on it (heath care for illegals!) while everyone else will blame the Dems as weak when they inevitably fail or give in. On the other hand, not fighting the Republicans on health care as this author suggests will ruin many people’s lives, which the Republicans will also blame on Democrats while everyone else sees the Dems as weakly doing nothing.
Shamazij on
How about also reverse policy 100% and start targeting them in any way you can politically.
EvanWasHere on
I’ve been saying this the entire time!!!
America voted for this because of lies. Because Trump made false promises his entire career. Remember Repeal and Replace, and after over a decade, there has never been even a hit of what he’s going to replace it with.
Democrats should have demanded Democrat kef investigations into Epstein and The false success of what Elon did to the government and how he squashed investigations into himself. They should have demanded to see how much the costs of all this new immigration costs Trump created.
These are the things that they could have shown to the American people and when Republicans balked at being investigated, Democrats could have pointed at it and made people wonder why they want it hidden.
Instead, then went with healthcare and Republicans were able to take that and convince rubes that were losing their own healthcare, that Democrats were trying to give it to illegals.
Parking-Emphasis590 on
>I understand, in the abstract, why Democrats like Obamacare subsidies and how they benefit people who would otherwise struggle to buy health insurance. But politically, shutting down the government to protect these subsidies is the silliest thing Democrats have done since they stopped the Republicans from shutting the government down last September.
I thought the reason for the divide was because Democrats (rightfully) no longer wanted to fund this continued slide into authoritarianism?
Also – I’m of two minds on this: yeah, the Dems could help run this through congress and allow many red state citizens lose ACA benefits, but while it *may* provide a *reap what you sow* moment for those voters, Dems consciously put through a bill that would cause harm. Not exactly a principled move. Still, it does show how GOP policies hurt the general populace.
I’m personally hope they don’t cave so easily. What we desperately need more than “I told you so” is a willingness to fight.
swazal on
Writer begins with blame:
> Why are Democrats shutting down the government to save enhanced Obamacare subsidies?
Basically says Dems should vote for something they don’t buy, then writes:
> Democrats have fallen into this trap before. Back in December, they helped Republicans avoid a shutdown and pass a farm subsidy bill and disaster relief. In fact, more House Democrats than House Republicans voted for the bill.
Either/Or, dude. This is Dems listening to the people: Who. Are. Pissed.
Hoak2017 on
This is the classic arsonist-firefighter scenario. The GOP starts a fire in their own house through infighting, Democrats help put it out to save the neighborhood, and then the GOP holds a press conference complaining about the water damage and blaming the firefighters. It’s a cycle that only ends when you let them deal with their own fire for once.
strenuousobjector on
I agree with the author:
>”The country won’t be on the road to recovery until it is allowed to experience those consequences. If that means giving free rein to the collection of clowns with flamethrowers that now passes for the Republican Party, so be it. Democrats should resist the urge to intervene when the inevitable happens and they set themselves on fire.”
I don’t want people to suffer, but part of the reason so many people still think Republicans know what they’re doing with the economy is because Democrats keep coming behind and fighting to keep people healthy and safe, then get none of the credit for it.
toolateforfate on
This only makes sense if we had a country that actually paid attention to what Republicans do and not just social media
Savvy-R1S on
The author of this piece doesn’t understand how dumb Trump’s voters are. They would still blame Dems for losing their healthcare and or blame them for not trying to save it. Here’s the kicker. People will die. Even if the Dem party is falling apart, directionless, and can’t fight its way out of a paper sack, they got this right. They are trying to save people, save Americans. Sometimes there is no prize for doing the right thing.
mothrageddon on
everybody in the comments lauding “letting it get as bad as possible” as the reasonable reaction to this will genuinely be complicit in the indiscriminate slaughter of every group this administration is targeting when it gets to that point. and it is a when, not an if. they had ice rappelling out of fucking helicopters and packing nude children with their arms zip tied into uhauls in chicago two days ago and you’re going to sit there and tell me with a straight face that ackshewally just sacrificing them to the altar of i told you so is the sane take. bffr
IWasBannedYesterday on
People when Democrats do nothing: Are you gonna do something or just let the Republicans destroy the country?
People when Democrats do something: Why are you helping the Republicans again?
FYI: Republicans control all 3 branches of government.
brendamn on
I would agree except I use the ACA and that money is a nice savings. I won’t cancel my insurance but it would suck.
This is why Dems always have a losing hand because they are expected to do the right thing for people and the GOP isn’t
27 Comments
They wanted to govern, let them demonstrate that they suck at it.
Lol, that moment when the other team keeps tripping and your squad’s like ‘Nah, let’s carry you to the finish line.’ 🙄 Can we not?
How about saving Americans from Republicans?
Any serious legislator should always do what they can to try and protect constituents healthcare.
Yes, even if their constituents suffering would be good politics for them longer term.
Democrats helping out Republicans in any way just proves that they are soft on crime.
Even better: subject them to the punishments they inflict upon others. Alligator Alcatraz for ALL MAGA Nazis and Nazi sympathizers. Dehumanize them. Ban them specifically from health care that everyone else can have.
The quote attributed to Napoleon is this or some variant: *“Never interfere with your enemy when he is making a mistake.”*
They both serve the same master and it ain’t us. Until we reverse Citizens United and have strict lobbying reform, our interests are just a whisper to them.
Democrats mostly punch left
For those who only bothered to read the headline: the opinion piece is arguing that the Democrats should loudly condemn the Republican’s destruction of ACA subsidies, while ‘giving them plenty of rope’ (that is, allowing it to happen). The idea being that the ACA price shock will severely piss off millions of voters, including large groups of people in states set to have special elections in the near future.
It’s… an interesting idea. I’m honestly not sure if I I agree with it or not; a big part of the shutdown, I think, is symbolic: the Democrats finally doing fucking *anything*.
But it also occurs to me that… doing the shutdown might lead to that strategy anyway. If the Democrats eventually cave (which personally feels like the most likely outcome), it will at least have drawn some attention to the ACA issue. When the price skyrockets, people will be more likely to know why because of all of the shutdown drama.
Honestly, the democrats need to step back and let things get bad as fast as possible.
That’s the only chance we have of shocking the public into action. A slow walk to authoritarianism will result in our demise. By the time the public realizes what’s happened it’s too late to do anything.
Let it fall apart now while we still have a chance.
In theory, sure. In real life, I’m looking at getting priced out of my health insurance.
Republicans will always find a way to blame Democrats no matter how obvious the failure on their end. I’ve been watching fox news and boy do they like to sell half truths mixed in with lies.
Does The Hill have democrats’ best interests at heart though? 😂
Evergreen content.
100%. Let MAGA burn it down until 2026. People will feel the pain and realize their choice. Economy is a powerful thing in a Democracy. This TRUMPS economy and the bubble is about to burst.
It’s an interesting take, but there are no good options. Fighting the Republicans on this is obviously the right thing to do to save people’s lives and money, but the Republicans will mischaracterize and run on it (heath care for illegals!) while everyone else will blame the Dems as weak when they inevitably fail or give in. On the other hand, not fighting the Republicans on health care as this author suggests will ruin many people’s lives, which the Republicans will also blame on Democrats while everyone else sees the Dems as weakly doing nothing.
How about also reverse policy 100% and start targeting them in any way you can politically.
I’ve been saying this the entire time!!!
America voted for this because of lies. Because Trump made false promises his entire career. Remember Repeal and Replace, and after over a decade, there has never been even a hit of what he’s going to replace it with.
Democrats should have demanded Democrat kef investigations into Epstein and The false success of what Elon did to the government and how he squashed investigations into himself. They should have demanded to see how much the costs of all this new immigration costs Trump created.
These are the things that they could have shown to the American people and when Republicans balked at being investigated, Democrats could have pointed at it and made people wonder why they want it hidden.
Instead, then went with healthcare and Republicans were able to take that and convince rubes that were losing their own healthcare, that Democrats were trying to give it to illegals.
>I understand, in the abstract, why Democrats like Obamacare subsidies and how they benefit people who would otherwise struggle to buy health insurance. But politically, shutting down the government to protect these subsidies is the silliest thing Democrats have done since they stopped the Republicans from shutting the government down last September.
I thought the reason for the divide was because Democrats (rightfully) no longer wanted to fund this continued slide into authoritarianism?
Also – I’m of two minds on this: yeah, the Dems could help run this through congress and allow many red state citizens lose ACA benefits, but while it *may* provide a *reap what you sow* moment for those voters, Dems consciously put through a bill that would cause harm. Not exactly a principled move. Still, it does show how GOP policies hurt the general populace.
I’m personally hope they don’t cave so easily. What we desperately need more than “I told you so” is a willingness to fight.
Writer begins with blame:
> Why are Democrats shutting down the government to save enhanced Obamacare subsidies?
Basically says Dems should vote for something they don’t buy, then writes:
> Democrats have fallen into this trap before. Back in December, they helped Republicans avoid a shutdown and pass a farm subsidy bill and disaster relief. In fact, more House Democrats than House Republicans voted for the bill.
Either/Or, dude. This is Dems listening to the people: Who. Are. Pissed.
This is the classic arsonist-firefighter scenario. The GOP starts a fire in their own house through infighting, Democrats help put it out to save the neighborhood, and then the GOP holds a press conference complaining about the water damage and blaming the firefighters. It’s a cycle that only ends when you let them deal with their own fire for once.
I agree with the author:
>”The country won’t be on the road to recovery until it is allowed to experience those consequences. If that means giving free rein to the collection of clowns with flamethrowers that now passes for the Republican Party, so be it. Democrats should resist the urge to intervene when the inevitable happens and they set themselves on fire.”
I don’t want people to suffer, but part of the reason so many people still think Republicans know what they’re doing with the economy is because Democrats keep coming behind and fighting to keep people healthy and safe, then get none of the credit for it.
This only makes sense if we had a country that actually paid attention to what Republicans do and not just social media
The author of this piece doesn’t understand how dumb Trump’s voters are. They would still blame Dems for losing their healthcare and or blame them for not trying to save it. Here’s the kicker. People will die. Even if the Dem party is falling apart, directionless, and can’t fight its way out of a paper sack, they got this right. They are trying to save people, save Americans. Sometimes there is no prize for doing the right thing.
everybody in the comments lauding “letting it get as bad as possible” as the reasonable reaction to this will genuinely be complicit in the indiscriminate slaughter of every group this administration is targeting when it gets to that point. and it is a when, not an if. they had ice rappelling out of fucking helicopters and packing nude children with their arms zip tied into uhauls in chicago two days ago and you’re going to sit there and tell me with a straight face that ackshewally just sacrificing them to the altar of i told you so is the sane take. bffr
People when Democrats do nothing: Are you gonna do something or just let the Republicans destroy the country?
People when Democrats do something: Why are you helping the Republicans again?
FYI: Republicans control all 3 branches of government.
I would agree except I use the ACA and that money is a nice savings. I won’t cancel my insurance but it would suck.
This is why Dems always have a losing hand because they are expected to do the right thing for people and the GOP isn’t