Gavin Newsom just let slip the Democrats’ dirty secret that could totally destroy them… and Trump is loving it: MARK HALPERIN
In less than a week, the Democratic Party has gone from a seraphic choir to a quarrelling barbershop quartet. For if last week’s election victories looked like a blue cavalry charge across the country, then this Sunday resembled a civil war.
Late Sunday night, eight Democratic senators broke with their party to vote with Republicans to end the longest federal government shutdown in history, almost entirely on the GOP’s terms.
The broader Democratic electorate and pundit class have largely recoiled in horror.
Most significantly, the deal neglected to secure the extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsides set to expire at the end of the year. But like losing game show contestants content to drive home with something in the trunk, Democrats got the Republican Senate leader’s personal guarantee that the GOP-controlled Congress would at least vote on a bill to restore the sunsetting Obamacare tax credits.
‘Leader [John] Thune has… promised the Democrats an opportunity before mid-December to present a Democratic bill on the floor with proposals to change the law and protect American families from dramatic healthcare premium increases,’ Senator Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the chamber, said Sunday.
The bargain delays, instead of concedes, that healthcare battle for another day. Yet the Democrat base and national figures with designs on their votes – viewed it as complete capitulation. And nowhere was this divide more apparent than in the state of New Hampshire where mother was set against daughter in a drama worthy of small-town theater.
The daughter: Stefany Shaheen, 51, a House candidate in New Hampshire’s open seat race. The mother: Jeanne Shaheen, 78, the state’s veteran Senator and one of the eight renegades who voted to reopen the government.
Stefany Shaheen had tweeted bluntly: ‘We need to both end this shutdown and extend the ACA tax credits. Otherwise, no deal.’
Late Sunday night, eight Democratic senators (pictured) broke with their party to vote with Republicans to end the longest federal government shutdown in history, almost entirely on the GOP ‘s terms
Democrats got the Republican Senate Leader John Thune’s (pictured) personal guarantee that the GOP-controlled Congress would vote on a bill to restore the sunsetting Obamacare tax credits
‘This was the only deal on the table,’ Senator Shaheen pleaded in a Sunday news conference. ‘It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the ACA tax credits that tens of millions of Americans rely on to keep costs down.’
Thanksgiving may be awkward this year… but isn’t it always?
The real question is: Will the Democrat family get back together in time for Christmas? Or more importantly the 2026 midterms? And 2028?
Longtime Oval Office admirer California Governor Gavin Newsom called the compromise a ‘betrayal of working Americans.’ Mayor Peter Buttigieg said it was a ‘bad deal.’ Senator Bernie Sanders predicted a ‘political disaster.’
Even Chuck Schumer — who usually keeps tight control of the Democratic message — rejected the agreement, although many in DC believe he quietly endorsed enough defections to off-load the hot potato.
But the eight rebel Dems say it came down to realism.
The shutdown imperiled food subsidies for 42 million Americans, the jobs of about 700,000 furloughed federal workers and another 730,000 ordered to work without pay, not to mention more than one million active-duty service members not receiving paychecks – as well as the nation’s air traffic control system. And never, ever in the history of government shutdowns has the holdout minority party won concessions by grinding the gear of government to a halt.
The thinking of the Democrat Eight is fine, in theory, and reasonable to civilians outside the government, especially those with a heart and a soul. But in practical terms, politics rarely rewards the adults in the room if their side thinks they’re surrendering.
The shutdown imperiled food subsidies for 42 million Americans and the jobs of about 700,000 furloughed federal workers
Longtime Oval Office admirer California Governor Gavin Newsom called the compromise a ‘betrayal of working Americans’
And there’s been precious little public defense for the deal among the grassroots — the very energy that carried the party to coast-to-coast election wins last week. Meanwhile, moderates are worried: the base is important, yes, but they will still need swing voters if they hope to win back Congress and the White House.
And do note: President Donald Trump is loving this.
The internal feast of the Democrats — riled up, self-flaying, no off-switch — is exactly the kind of show this president adores. If politics is theater, then this is his box-seat moment. Cook up some more of that Jiffy Pop and pass it around.
Trump sees it as a validation of his iron determination not to bend in this (or any) fight.
What the Democrats must now hope for is a Take Two — and a better framing of the next battle.
The healthcare ground is fertile: Republicans remain vulnerable when it comes to affordability, insurance premiums and Obamacare subsidies. If Democrats can recalibrate, they still might regain the initiative. But if they remain stuck debating internal identity rather than external contrast, that window could close.
In short: The party went from walking wounded in 2024 to resurrected maestro to marching-band meltdown. The music was rising; now it’s screeching. And despite the cacophony, the Democrats would be wise to remember that the competition isn’t, shouldn’t be, coming from inside the house.
Their foe is down Pennsylvania Avenue prepping his comeback tour, with heirs and spares at the ready. They’d be wise to remember that.
