We Just Giving Up?

[0rganism]

51. We'll never have more leverage to continue the ACA funding than we *had* on Saturday

If the whole thing was doomed from the start, senate Democrats could have saved everyone a lot of trouble by letting the CR through after a few days of performative resistance rather than 5 weeks of useless discomfort inflicted on the whole country. If this shitty deal was the best we could hope for, we could have gotten it in week 1. Now we get to eat shit for a long-term shutdown that accomplished squat-diddly.

But my point is, we HAD leverage, the GOP was on notice, there was a chance of success, especially after Tuesday. More voters were blaming Republicans for the shutdown by >10% margins. Imagine the massive disruptions to Thanksgiving travel and shopping blamed entirely on Republicans dead set on taking away food stamps and health care. The Republicans were looking awful on this. One more week and the GOP leaders would have been ready to deal. All Democratic leadership had to do was... NOTHING. And they failed. Completely.

Oh well. The ACA is dead. Sen. Schumer pulled the plug and paved the way for whatever F47's team comes up with as a replacement. There's still a robust demand for affordable healthcare, and the Democrats just abandoned the struggle to influence the form in which it arrives. Don't expect voters to swoon longingly over their long-lost Obamacare benefits next November.