Filtering through opinion polls from news sources that are no longer really part of the free press to gather information about how people are reacting to the government shutdown produces a mixed bag of results, though reading the comments and reactions adds a little bit of perspective. With the understanding that a lot of people who are right wing conservatives have little to no understanding what this actually means, Democratic political leadership in Congress should be quite happy with what they are seeing. The "American people," the catch all phrase that everyone uses when they see a slight majority of support leaning their way, are forming an opinion about the government shutdown.
The Republicans, and Trump, are getting the blame and they are having to own the consequences of what is happening.
The reaction, really, should be a little more overwhelming than it is, but we're used to the political polarization in this country by now. What we are not used to seeing is GOP leadership overwhelmingly reacting in a way that gives their secrets away and tells us they are really frightened by what they are seeing, and really angry that they are in a position where they are going to have to cave in on what Democrats want in order to relieve the pressure and get the government operating again.
It's still a secret about how many Republicans are going to break ranks. They are still good about avoiding those kind of public commitments. But the Democrats have some real advantages going for them here. One is that Trump's unpopularity has reached a point where there is visible motivation of opposition. I don't really see the growing number of rallies and marches and protests as having much of an effect from that side of the political spectrum. They have no real objective and they are largely ignored by Republicans, or at least, up until a couple of weeks ago they were. The other is that there are 20 million Americans whose health insurance coverage is going to either disappear altogether, or skyrocket, if the Republicans get their way on the budget.
And so, Senator Schumer has somehow managed to find fortitude and enthusiasm that I have not ever really see him have, and that he rarely exhibited when prodded by Speaker Pelosi's presence in leadership. He, apparently does have a spine, and he may slowly be awakening to the idea that the old school politics of give and take, negotiate, compromise and play nice, are dead and gone and the only way to beat this demagogue at his game is to stand up and fight back.
Speaker Mike Johnson is clearly feeling the pressure, as his shrill responses and his sticking to the scripted words indicate. Honestly, I've never seen him so animated, and so nervous, and he's normally not one to parrot the catch phrases. He's rattled.
Kudos to Democrats like Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who are not only standing firm in their position, and spending a lot of time generating support for their position from their constituents, especially in a state like Arizona, where the percentage of people on the verge of this insurance crisis is almost double that of the average, where the Democrats who now hold the statewide elected offices and both senate seats as a result of their position on this very issue, but who are becoming confrontational in ways that are showing voters who is really on their side.
Arizona's governor, Katie Hobbs, just announced her re-election bid, and has favorable polling numbers precisely because she has brought affordable health care to the top of the list of issues facing Arizonans. Arizona has a much higher than average population who get health care from the exchanges, and a high percentage of adults living on social security alone. The increases in health care rates would generate a crisis there that would put a lot of hospitals out of business.
Those who are directly affected by the shudown, including those federal employees who are losing their jobs, are not being fired by a Democrat in the White House. It's Trump, and everyone knows that. He's a lame duck, and his goal has been to boost the revenue for his billionaire supporters out of the tax cuts his budget cuts support, but populist ignorance makes people vote against their own interests because they lack the intelligence, and are cut off from the truth, so they can't figure this out. He's adding millions to the list of those who have a direct reason to hate him.
Still 13 months out from the next election, which some ridiculous court ruling from the stupid six on the Supreme Court could derail, or fix for the GOP, this issue has very likely guaranteed the Democrats a house majority. Johnson clearly sees the end of his term coming, and if the Democrats can kick the moribund DNC into gear, and focus on making some real challenges in senate races that are winnable, using these self-desctructive Republican actions, we can end the Trump tyranny and open the door to getting him out of the White House a couple of years before this term is over.
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