I always expected the first few weeks of President Trump’s second term to be bad. But I did not expect to watch Trump and Elon Musk take a flame-thrower to the American government while congressional Democrats engage in the political equivalent of ASMR videos.
It’s truly baffling. Trump has ignored dozens of laws in his quest to purge the federal government of supposedly disloyal employees and create an all-powerful presidency. Musk, his multi-billionaire sidekick, has been allowed to turn literal teenagers loose on every aspect of the federal government, with a mandate to do … well, no one really knows what, except that it involves gathering enormous quantities of sensitive data, dumping employees at random, and shutting down entire federal agencies.
The Democratic response to this unprecedented attack on the rule of law and the American system of checks and balances has been utterly anodyne. I’ve seen livelier opposition at PTA meetings.
This isn’t that hard. Democrats have one simple message to deliver: Republicans are responsible for everything that happens from now on. Republicans control both houses of Congress and the presidency. All the unintended consequences, government shutdowns and colossal failures will be 100 percent Republican-owned.
Instead, House Democrats are reveling in delusions of relevance. At his press conference last week, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries alternated between claiming that Democrats had “no leverage” and insisting that Democrats were standing by to help fund the government if only Republicans would let them.
In fact, House Democrats get furious at any suggestion that they aren’t fully cooperating with Republican efforts. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) had this to say about Speaker Mike Johnson’s claim that Democrats had walked away from negotiations over government spending. “He’s full of s—. … [H]e can blame anybody he wants … but we’re not walking away from the table.”
This, of course, plays right into the Republicans’ hands; they would like nothing better than to make Democrats share responsibility for Republican fecklessness. Here’s how Johnson is spinning the upcoming funding crisis. “Leader Jeffries and others seem to be trying to set up some sort of government shutdown.”
The current Republican Party may not be able to govern but they can still deliver a message.
Rather than being perpetual doormats, Democrats should be saying, “Of course we are not negotiating with Republicans. There’s nothing to negotiate. We have no power to fund the government. Only Republicans can do that. If Republicans can’t keep their own government open with Republican votes, then they shouldn’t be in power. And we’ll be reminding voters of Republican dysfunction and incompetence today — and every day — until the next election.”
That last part is important, because Jeffries said something jaw-dropping about Democratic strategy last week. “There’s a season to govern and a season to campaign. And we are in the governing season.”
That is so fundamentally wrong that it is delusional. Democrats control nothing and have no power to do anything. They are in opposition. And when you are in opposition, you do not govern. Everything you do is about the next election.
If they want to win that election, House Democrats should not be lending Republicans a single Democratic vote to prevent a government shutdown on March 14. Propping them up and helping them govern lends Republican antics an utterly undeserved air of normalcy.
This isn’t just about big issues like the shutdown. Democrats sent a letter to the new Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, last week begging him to exclude seasonal national park workers from Trump’s hiring freeze. “Without seasonal staff during this peak season, visitor centers may close, bathrooms will be filthy, campgrounds may close, guided tours will be cut back or altogether canceled.”
Oh no — dirty bathrooms?
There are not enough eyeroll emojis in all the world.
If they really believe that Trump is marching us toward an authoritarian government, why are Democrats offering helpful suggestions to make it more efficient? God forbid any actual voters should be inconvenienced by what Musk and Trump are doing — at least not until we have a major disease outbreak or a hurricane or something.
Unfortunately, American voters are deeply unserious at the moment and don’t seem to think that any of this will have real consequences. They need to be educated otherwise. The shuttering of the gift shop at the Grand Canyon is a much more gentle lesson than an outbreak of tuberculosis.
If Democrats believe that Trump really is a Kim Jong Un-sized genius who will Make America Great Again and whose every passing thought is brilliance — even the one about turning the Gaza strip into a golf course and casino — then, by all means, they should do everything they possibly can to help Republicans govern.
But if Democrats believe that the Trump administration is a shambolic train wreck destined to end in tears and leave smoking ruins where the American government used to be, then their job is to make sure that everyone in the country understands Democrats had nothing to do with it.
When it comes to dealing with Trump and the chaos he is unleashing, — and I mean this in a completely non-sexist way — you have to either sign up or man up. There is no middle ground.
Chris Truax is an appellate attorney who served as Southern California chair for John McCain’s primary campaign in 2008.
