Pity the poor Democrats. Their big show of #RESISTANCE is continuing, but the plot line is being overshadowed by reality. In the last year, the Dems have resisted essentially every nominee that President Trump sent to the Senate; yet, so far over 99% have been confirmed over their opposition. The Dems resisted any changes to Obamacare. For a brief time, they succeeded, but then the Individual Mandate was repealed along with a few of the Obamacare taxes. The Dems opposed the tax cut legislation with strong but dishonest resistance; they failed to stop passage. That failure was particularly damaging because events following the passage of the bill have revealed to nearly every American that the Democrats were lying. Then things really got bad. The Dems shut down the government over DACA but then their resistance changed to a cave-in in just three days. They realized that resistance to fight for illegal aliens at the cost of hurting the entire country was less than popular. Now, the resistance is agreeing to a 2 year budget deal that raises defense spending and achieves many of President Trump's other goals. For example, it appropriates over $80 billion for disaster relief. That may sound like a good move for the Democrats, but remember, they have been condemning the President and the GOP for months for not spending on disaster relief, all the while blocking the passage of the disaster relief bill. There's big money also for combatting the opioid crisis, one of Trump's major election promises.
The reality is that America is seeing that the Democrats are no longer resisting even though they still put on that show. They realize that they lost the battle. The result of capitulation is that the Democrat base is splitting in two. Some are furious that the resistance is over. Others are glad to see reason prevail over mindless anger. In the far left precincts, the resistance is strong. That's why Nancy Pelosi negotiated the new budget deal and then went out an put on a show of opposing her own deal. It's much like Harvey Weinstein giving a donation to a women's charity; everyone knows what's going on.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Republicans are united; they're not. A fool like Rand Paul put on a performance of delaying the passage of the budget deal so as to get a symbolic 5 hour government shutdown in the middle of the night. The key, however, is that GOP is governing. It may not be pretty, but with the exception of repealing Obamacare, the party has achieved many of the goals it set for itself. The next battle will be over DACA; with Trump's reasonable offer on the table and the Democrats' refusal of it, the likelihood of nothing happening is high. Still, we will have to see how this all plays out. Will the resistors or the cooperators win on the Democrat side? Will 8 or 9 Democrat senators decide that they should vote for the Trump plan in order to protect the DACA crew? Time will tell.
The reality is that America is seeing that the Democrats are no longer resisting even though they still put on that show. They realize that they lost the battle. The result of capitulation is that the Democrat base is splitting in two. Some are furious that the resistance is over. Others are glad to see reason prevail over mindless anger. In the far left precincts, the resistance is strong. That's why Nancy Pelosi negotiated the new budget deal and then went out an put on a show of opposing her own deal. It's much like Harvey Weinstein giving a donation to a women's charity; everyone knows what's going on.
Of course, this doesn't mean that Republicans are united; they're not. A fool like Rand Paul put on a performance of delaying the passage of the budget deal so as to get a symbolic 5 hour government shutdown in the middle of the night. The key, however, is that GOP is governing. It may not be pretty, but with the exception of repealing Obamacare, the party has achieved many of the goals it set for itself. The next battle will be over DACA; with Trump's reasonable offer on the table and the Democrats' refusal of it, the likelihood of nothing happening is high. Still, we will have to see how this all plays out. Will the resistors or the cooperators win on the Democrat side? Will 8 or 9 Democrat senators decide that they should vote for the Trump plan in order to protect the DACA crew? Time will tell.
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