• Wheaties [she/her]@hexbear.net
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    27 days ago

    The whiplash on this is pretty stark. No SNAP and no paychecks for Air-traffic controllers going into the holiday busy season, only to immediately backtrack one week in. And all for a vote that’s doomed to fail anyway.

    All of the sudden Dems seemed to know where the pressure points are, how to take a modicum of political power and leverage it for everything it’s worth… except it seems like it was by mistake? That they never really thought through what they were doing, what they were asking for, and the consequences a shutdown this long would entail. As soon as the actual reality loomed, as soon as they realized what they blundered into, they drop it immediately.

    Perhaps that’s not the most accurate characterization. But fuck me if it doesn’t seem like that’s what happened.

      • decaptcha [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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        27 days ago

        We’ve seen how their brand of self-sabotage looks when they’re “winning” and decide they won’t deliver for people. E.g. Lieberman, Sinema, Manchin… We know what it looks like when they’re out of power, lots of easy fundraising and grandstanding and empty promises… here’s how it looks when they hold no levers of power but are still winning. These conditions require the same manufactured “failure” of leadership, but this particular manifestation feels even more egregious. They’re not just spiking the football one yard from the end zone, they’re chest bumping each other after handing the ball to the defense.

    • PKMKII [none/use name]@hexbear.net
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      27 days ago

      We make fun of the “this election is the most important one of our lifetime, the democrats just need to win and then deal with the party’s issues later” argument as a dodge. But it seems that it infects their psyche at every level. They’re so allergic to long-term strategy that the moment they’re presented with a scenario that requires it, they fold like they encountered some magical talisman they think will corrupt them.

    • AF_R [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      27 days ago

      The Dems thought the people would rally behind them for the elections and, more importantly, start pouring in donations.

      What they didn’t account for was the completely predictable result of people rallying behind Republicans to cut benefits and welfare.

      The average, and even the plurality, of Americans fucking hate Democrats. You can explain why the shutdown happened, what the Dems were holding out for (even nominally), and why they weren’t budging, and the average worker goes “wow fucking evil Dems”.

      This is not even leftist daydreaming, this is real life, and anyone that interacts with the salt of the earth working class can corroborate it.

      A hundred cultural revolutions could not purge the disease and sin of America.

      • MayoPete [he/him, comrade/them]@hexbear.net
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        27 days ago

        The Democrats are supposed to realize the working class Republicans aren’t possible to convince of anything. They should have let this go until Thanksgiving, brand Trump as the President who canceled Thanksgiving and win back all of those cul-de-sac base voters who actually fly to see family for the holidays.

        Poor people ain’t flying. They’re taking the train if lucky to have Amtrak near then and the money to afford tickets. Or they’re driving.

        • SevenSkalls [he/him]@hexbear.net
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          27 days ago

          100%. The fact that they won this blue wave of elections during the shutdown proved that people were blaming the Republicans, not the Democrats. Makes sense, it’s the Republicans that are in power right now and the American public are simple creatures.

          This would have destroyed the Republicans, but it seems a few who are retiring or aren’t being reelected next year are giving up, but I don’t know why. Backroom deals? Bribes? Either way, this will be disastrous to the rest of the Democratic party and these ones need or be ostracized, and in a better system, would be recalled right after this goes through.

  • musicpostingonly [he/him, any]@hexbear.net
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    27 days ago

    not impotent.

    One and the same. Look how the Venn diagram of their interests is closer to a single circle than anything with some overlap.

    The United States is a single party system. It always fucking has been.

  • WIIHAPPYFEW [he/him, they/them]@hexbear.net
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    27 days ago

    You watch the streets, I’ll watch the skies…

    the democrats’ budget plan Chuck Schumer, as he looks out the window of an Embraer at some mom sitting on her doorstep who has to set up her family’s insurance plan from scratch now