Democrats, it seems, may precipitate a government shutdown this week. They’re able to do this because, despite their own best efforts, in the United States, the minority party has a genuine ability to participate in governing the nation. It’s one of our system’s authentic strengths.
Then again, this episode — and many others over the past nine years — reveal something else about the modern Democratic Party: Minority or majority, it doesn’t really matter to them. Process and norms? Largely irrelevant. Not only do they believe it’s undemocratic for elected Republicans to vote against a liberal president’s agenda when in the minority they believe it’s undemocratic for Republicans to pass a tax bill even after winning both houses of Congress and the presidency.
Basically the existence of the Republican Party itself is undemocratic, because for many liberals “democracy” is nothing but a synonym for whatever hobbyhorse they’re focused on at the moment.
Yesterday, the House passed a short-term extension of government funding after President Donald Trump pressure a handful of reluctant members to sign on, ensuring the GOP could pull together enough votes to get it done. Around virtually the same time, NBC News was reporting that Democrats had the votes to block any spending bill in the Senate to prevent Republicans from keeping the government open.
Democrats blame the GOP solely for the shutdown. Yet, any person with even rudimentary understanding of American governance knows that’s not how this works. A minority can shut down the government — which amounts to very little but a paid vacation for non-essential government workers. In this case, they’re helping to do it because of an ancillary issue. Democrats will block the longest-ever extension of the CHIP program, because they believe it politically expedient to connect the DACA issue to the funding debate. Perhaps it’s good politics. We’ll see.
What The Shutdown Tells Us About Modern Democrats
Minority, majority, process, or norms, it doesn’t really matter. Democrats believe they should always be in control.
Then again, this episode — and many others over the past nine years — reveal something else about the modern Democratic Party: Minority or majority, it doesn’t really matter to them. Process and norms? Largely irrelevant. Not only do they believe it’s undemocratic for elected Republicans to vote against a liberal president’s agenda when in the minority they believe it’s undemocratic for Republicans to pass a tax bill even after winning both houses of Congress and the presidency.
Basically the existence of the Republican Party itself is undemocratic, because for many liberals “democracy” is nothing but a synonym for whatever hobbyhorse they’re focused on at the moment.
Yesterday, the House passed a short-term extension of government funding after President Donald Trump pressure a handful of reluctant members to sign on, ensuring the GOP could pull together enough votes to get it done. Around virtually the same time, NBC News was reporting that Democrats had the votes to block any spending bill in the Senate to prevent Republicans from keeping the government open.
Democrats blame the GOP solely for the shutdown. Yet, any person with even rudimentary understanding of American governance knows that’s not how this works. A minority can shut down the government — which amounts to very little but a paid vacation for non-essential government workers. In this case, they’re helping to do it because of an ancillary issue. Democrats will block the longest-ever extension of the CHIP program, because they believe it politically expedient to connect the DACA issue to the funding debate. Perhaps it’s good politics. We’ll see.
What The Shutdown Tells Us About Modern Democrats
Minority, majority, process, or norms, it doesn’t really matter. Democrats believe they should always be in control.