• WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I dunno, I think the Dems are going to have more success picking very specific and important battles.

    If things go as bad as they might, the Dems will need to appeal to more than just the converted, they’ll have to win over some percentage of those who chose not to vote or voted trump.

    Why? Going full bore works for Republicans. Democrats need to adopt the Republican strategy of simply voting no on literally every single committee hearing, bill, and budget proposal for the next four years.

    The voters clearly don’t give a shit about analyzing actual policy. They don’t consider who is responsible for the world around them. They simply ask themselves if they were better off four years ago and act accordingly.

    At this point, I don’t think Democrats should even vote for debt limit increases. Republicans have complete control of government. They have the votes to pass a debt increase. If they can’t whip up their own votes; that’s their problem.

    I am fucking tired of Democrats bailing out Republicans. Democrats should simply refuse to engage at all while Trump is in office. Let Republicans try to endlessly gain a few Democratic compromise votes, only to refuse to support a bill at the last minute.

    This milquetoast “choose your battles” crap clearly doesn’t work. What does work is sticking to your guns and refusing to help the other side at all. So I say Democrats stand by and let Republicans do what they want without a single Democratic vote. Whatever they propose is going to be a disaster anyway. Let them have the entire blame.

    Bipartisanship is actually a huge trap in the current regime. Republicans want to propose bills that are seriously damaging to society, human rights, and the economy. A few Democrats crossing the aisle to vote with them won’t change the fact that a profoundly wicked bill is still profoundly wicked. But it will mean that instead of being purely a Republican bill, it is now “bipartisan.”

    No. Leave the Republicans to their demons. Refuse to vote in favor of a single bill. Force Republicans to own it. If this results in a default on the national debt? So be it. It’s time to give the electorate what they voted for. If digging in our heels saves democracy at the expense of the economy, that is a bargain I will take every time.

    • corsicanguppy
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      2 days ago

      Going full bore works for Republicans. Democrats need to adopt the Republican strategy

      This is how I know you don’t grasp the fundamental difference between progressive and conservative voters. “Progressives need to fall in love, conservatives need to fall in line.”

    • Lauchs@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      simply voting no on literally every single committee hearing, bill, and budget proposal for the next four years.

      That has worked because Republicans held a branch of government. Dems have no power or leverage. How do you envision this slowing anything down when Republicans hold the trifecta?

      I’m not saying Dems should vote with Republicans but I would save our hystrionics for matters that are going to be important, not say refusing to take photos or stymieing the peaceful transfer of power.

      • WoodScientist@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Republicans have significant division in their caucus. Look at the chaos they had with electing a House speaker. Most of the Republicans in the House will talk the talk, but ultimately they really don’t want to tear down the entire government. But there’s a quarter of them or so that would eagerly vote for a bill that just shut the Federal government down entirely. There’s some real whackadoos there. Or some people who will simply never vote for a debt limit increase under any circumstance.

        And Republicans are looking like they’re going to have a razor thin margin in the House, probably only 4 or 5 seats. History has shown that when the House GOP needs to actually govern, they fail miserably. They also have quite a few histrionics within their ranks who will object to any significant bill just for the sake of getting attention. Inevitably, any significant legislation to come out of the House will require at least a few Democratic votes.

        And then in the Senate, there’s the filibuster to worry about. Republicans are loathe to repeal the filibuster; as on balance, it helps Republicans a lot more than it helps Democrats. So any significant legislation beyond basic budgets and court confirmations is going to require the participation of at least a few Democratic Senators.

        And this actually does concern me. Democrats suffer from pathological bipartisanship. It is in their DNA to always offer an olive branch, try and be the better person, and seek a compromise. It just takes a few compromising Democrats to see some really terrible legislation passed. If Republicans try to pass anti-trans legislation, they will not be able to do so on their own. In the House, some of the Histrionics Caucus will object to its because it doesn’t go far enough. And they won’t have the 60 votes they need in the Senate. But if a few centrist Democrats decide, “hey, I can compromise on this. I’ll vote for this, but in exchange I’ll ask them to water it down a bit. So we’ll end up taking away fewer civil rights…”