Senate Democrats Cannot Shrink Away From First Fight
With wins by new Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in their respective runoffs on January 5th, Democrats were able to secure a majority for the first time since the 2012 general election. Combined with a majority in the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden now in office, Democrats seem poised to be able to implement their agenda and undo the damage done during the previous administration.
That is, unless Mitch McConnell has something to say about it.
Now the minority leader, the senator from Kentucky is refusing to relinquish authority in a blatant power grab, attempting to force Democrats to bend to his will on the rules of the new senate. The use of the filibuster is the hill that McConnell appears to be willing to die on, something Majority Leader Chuck Schumer will not commit to at this time.
The fast-approaching impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, as well as the aggressive tone that President Biden has set in implementing his agenda, are leverage points for McConnell to pressure Senate Democrats into his demands before he will hand over the reins.
Schumer has not said that Dems will be looking to abolish the filibuster, preferring to get the business of the Senate moving and returning to the subject later, leaving things as they are for now.
McConnell is attempting to hold the will of the people hostage while blaming the hostage-negotiator Democrats for not performing self-immolation on their political goals and wanting to govern.
While the squabbling continues, the public is left in a state of confusion, unsure what it all means. This leads back to Democrats’ ongoing messaging problem and their inability to control the narrative on issues that should be slam dunks for them.
Instead of getting in front of a bank of microphones and cameras like the members of the GOP propaganda office will, Dems prefer to dole out statements to press here and there and give answers with the sternness of an inexperienced substitute teacher.
The time for hand wringing and niceties is long gone, ostensibly destroyed by the last four years of Republican control. Now is the time for action and strength.
The outcome of this standoff with McConnell will set the tone for the remaining term of this senate and will have profound effects on the 2022 midterms, which essentially started the day after the final senators were sworn in.
Should Schumer and Democratic leadership kowtow to a Republican Party that appears to be hurtling towards a civil war for the future of their party, it will all but guarantee a galvanization of the warring right-wing political groups and spell their doom in two years time.
What Democrats fail to see is that this is an opportunity to put the screws to Mitch McConnell and further throw the GOP into internal strife.
Simple statements like “Democrats have always been able to rely on Mitch McConnell’s consistency” and “We’re glad to see the minority leader is open to convicting Donald Trump and returning the GOP back to where it stood before” would infuriate the far-right portion of the Republican Party and effectively take out his legs from underneath him.
It’s time that Senate Democrats stop acting like they are above the muckraking and backbiting of the current state of politics. Enough with the carefully prepared statements and sound bites that play well with well-established liberal groups.
Until they are able to come out of the gate swinging and stop shying away from trying to kick in the GOP’s political teeth, Democrats will be stuck in an infinite loop of watching from the sidelines and getting mauled when they finally make it onto the field.
If Chuck Schumer is unable or unwilling to do so, then it’s time to hand it over to someone who is.
