You know, sometimes I feel like I’ve just had it with Democrats. We always find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Democrats always find a way to argue amongst ourselves. And I think this is one of those moments. The government reopens, the narrative landed, the voters responded last Tuesday. I’m saying to Democrats, take the freakin’ win. Showdowns are not policy machines. They are not how legislation is supposed to crafted.
What A Shutdown Is Not
Shutdowns are actually moral megaphones, not policy crafting tools. We didn’t shut the government down to squeeze out a thousand-page bill with everything on the wishlist because that’s not how shutdowns work. Shutdowns are blunt messaging instruments. They don’t write policy. They broadcast values. They send a message.
If the Democrats shut down the government until they got what they wanted, at no matter the cost, what is to stop Republicans from using the same technique to pass more tax breaks the next time they are in the minority?
Over the last 40 days, the messages that reached everyday people were unmistakable: Who’s on your side when you need groceries or health coverage? Who’s willing to use ordinary families as bargaining chips? The answers to that are clear. The Trump administration fought as hard as it possibly could to keep food out of vulnerable people’s mouths. It went to court to stop SNAP benefits. It threatened state governments that dared to fill in the gap. The country saw it, and it shaped how they voted. I’m hearing people whining this morning, saying, “But we didn’t get anything.” That’s not at all true.
We got a couple of things that matter:
* We’re going to get an on-the-record choice on healthcare. There will be a vote on ACA subsidies. This forces them to vote on the subsidies to go away. This forces them to vote on whether your premiums should go up. We’re going to get them on record, and that matters. It frames the next negotiation, and it frames the next election. The ACA subsidies were supposed to die in darkness because they were left out of the one-big-beautiful bill. Now they’ll have to go on the record.
* The other thing we got is the messaging. This narrative played out for 40 days. National attention stayed glued to the consequences of austerity. The story was not abstract spending; it was food. It was SNAP. It was medical insurance premiums, but with the difference whether people are going to have insurance or not, and whether or not the government works for regular people. That story now sits in the public mind, and that is leverage.
During the shutdown, Donald Trump tore down the east wing and had a major party at Mar-a-Lago, a great Gatsby-style party. He also played golf several times. That messaging is going to stick.
Another Huge Benefit
The other thing is, we had this blue tsunami on Tuesday. Where a Democrat was on the ballot, voters chose the Democrat from governors down to dog catchers. That’s not coincidence; that’s cause and effect. Yes, part of it is the immigration policy of snatching people off the streets, inflation due to tariffs, and just a general feeling the country is heading in the wrong direction. But the shutdown played a role. Donald Trump said it himself. In the state of Virginia, for example, every single county voted more blue in this election than they did in the last election. Now they didn’t all vote blue, but more blue. Messaging met reality, and reality voted. We need to carry on that momentum.
Progressives vs. Moderates
This idea about progressive vs. moderates irks me. They say that the moderate Democrats voted with the Republicans to open up the government as if that’s something bad. I got to tell you, I’m as progressive as they come. I love big ideas, I love bold plans, I love moral clarity. But sometimes the most progressive strategy is to take the win. I am in favor of Universal Healthcare. I didn’t think the ACA went far enough. But I was in favor of it because it was the best we could do.
The progressives brought us the fight. They brought the moral urgency. They got us the longest shutdown in history as another mark on Trump’s record.
Moderates opened up the path to put a tough vote on the board and to end this needless harm. Democrats know that real people are hurting due to this shutdown. Families are food insecure. How long should we starve people in the hope of getting them affordable healthcare? Hope— not a guarantee that the Republicans would ever vote to continue the subsidies.
Holiday travel was in jeopardy. Government workers are not only not receiving SNAP benefits, but are also working without pay. Democrats are the ones bringing them relief.
Take The Freakin’ Win Already
Look up at the scoreboard. We won.
A message is a seed. The policy that grows that message is the tree. If we want this moment to grow, here’s what we do. We take the message to the people. Democrats fought for you. Democrats want to make sure you are fed and have healthcare.
Let’s keep telling the stories and let’s remind people that the Republicans were the ones that wanted to keep starving people while the Democrats said, “Okay, we’re going to open up the government so people can eat.” Let’s keep this vote clean and let’s keep it on the record. If Republicans choose to end the ACA subsidies, make sure people know who made that decision.
We clarified the values of both sides. We will secure it on the record. Voters awarded the side that stood with them last Tuesday.
Let’s not show our division; let’s not point fingers and say “you guys gave up.” The Republicans were never going to give us what we wanted on this ACA vote based on the shutdown. They showed they were willing to harm the American people more and more. They deliberately inflicted more pain than necessary.
We can disagree as a family about tactics - okay, fine, and I’ve had many debates with people about what’s the right thing to do here - but today, let’s look at the scoreboard, nod to each other, and move the ball down the court. Let’s take the freakin’ win.
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Thank you for walking each other Home with me.
