What Everybody Is Getting Wrong About the CR Vote
"Yes" was for capitulation, "No!" was for negotiation
Good morning friends,
The torrential downpour of lies is really starting to get to me. I'm tired of it. I can't take any more lies. I've shut off all my televisions, I shot all my radios, I've turned off the internet.
And still I find myself constantly inundated with lies, lies, and more damn lies!
The latest round of lies comes as a result of this deplorable decision by the Democrats to roll over and allow the Republicans to shove a bad bill down their throats. We do have to remember that 36 Democrats, 1 Independent, and even 1 Republican voted against the bill designed to give our president and his team of reckless tech bros even more power.
Oh, and don't get your hopes up about the 1 Republican who voted against.
Now, before you start in with all the arguments the 10 Democrats who voted “Yes” are using to support their decision, let's consider the ones who voted “No.” What are you going to tell me, that they're all ignorant? Are you going to tell me that their position doesn't matter?
Because I think it does.
But these days no matter whether you're on social media or talking in the street, you just get railroaded into going along with a shitty, ill-conceived plan. Perhaps the worst part is that the other side is NEVER given an opportunity to have their say.
That includes me. But fortunately I have this platform, so I'm going to throw some of the other arguments out there so you are at least aware of them.
The first thing that pisses me off is that the Democrats let the Republicans frame the conflict as if a “No” vote meant you were “shutting down the government.”
IT DIDN'T MEAN THAT AT ALL!
A “No” vote meant you wanted to negotiate. It's perfectly reasonable to ask to negotiate.
I mean, if you were an NFL quarterback on a great team, and your team offered you a below-market contract only to say, “Well, if you don't take this contract you're the one who is destroying our team.” Would you expect the quarterback to take it?
Of course not because that's a BAD FAITH ARGUMENT! If you reject a bad offer, it doesn't mean you permanently ended the deal. You just go back to negotiate and get a deal that actually works for you.
But the Democrats act like this is something they just have to capitulate to. “Oh, the Republicans said we'd be shutting down the government so I guess it's true.”
What the hell? Are you people ivy league educated or not? Are you ignorant? Are you complicit?
“I'm voting 'No' because I want to go back to negotiating and get a deal that works better for the American people.” How hard is it to say those words? I heard Bernie say something similar, but all the corporate Democrats (who are basically Republicans), just shuffle along and shrug their shoulders and “live to fight another day.”
ASSHOLES! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF DAYS!
If the government had been shut down, it would have been the Republican shut down. All you have to do is speak. Get the word out there. Go do town halls like Bernie is doing. Say the message again and again and again.
You can't just “be the bigger person” and say nothing in the face of a malicious lie. You have to RESPOND or the LIE WINS! This has been happening over and over and over for the last 10 damn years! How can Democratic leadership be so obtuse that they haven't figured this out yet?
I'm still seeing people occasionally blaming Bernie for the mess we're in. You can't blame Bernie, the DNC never LISTENED to Bernie. Now they're not listening to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Jasmine Crockett either. They're so damn entitled and proud and sure of themselves that all they do is attack the progressives while they let the fascists get away with whatever they want.
Voting NO was for NEGOTIATION. It wasn't for a shut down. There was a third option that the apologist centrist Democrats tried to gaslight us into not noticing.
The guys who voted “Yes” said, “Well, if the government is closed, the president will be able to fire these people.”
But that's a ludicrous argument because THE PRESIDENT IS FIRING PEOPLE ANYWAY!
Voting “Yes” didn't stop anyone from getting fired. The president congratulated the guys who voted “Yes.” That's bad. This is not a president that you want happy. You want him furious all the time because when he's furious and he rants and rages he looks weak.
We need him looking weak if we're going to win. Giving him what he wants is always bad.
The Democrats needed to force a shut down and have effective messaging to make the Republicans own the shut down. Instead, they just sort of said, “Well, it's the lesser of two evils,” and took the route of Neville Chamberlain.
“Peace in our time!”
READ A HISTORY BOOK! You defeat bullies by opposing them. You never defeat them by capitulating to them, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!
The final straw is that now I'm seeing some smug moderate Democrats berating progressives for fighting for the filibuster. Remember how we had a chance to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act? The moderates killed that to “protect” the filibuster.
Well, if the VRAA had been passed, the Democrats would have likely never lost another election. It would have helped voting security, it would have improved access to voting, it would have fought gerrymandering. It would have completely reformed our political landscape.
But the corporate Democrats said, “Nah, I'm good.” Even though the progressives pleaded with them to pass the act.
So now, one election cycle later, we're looking at the most corrupt presidential administration in national history. There are major questions about election integrity. Despite all that, the corporate Democrats who protected the filibuster are gloating about it. “Seems like the progressives are happy about the filibuster now... I told you so!” they're saying.
Are these people out of their mind? Did it escape their attention that WE DIDN'T EVEN USE THE FILIBUSTER! The CR PASSED! THE DEMOCRATS DIDN'T HAVE THE GUTS TO STOP IT!
Do you see this? There are lies on top of lies on top of lies.
Democrats didn't own the shut down, the Republicans did
Bad faith Democrats pretend like forcing a negotiation isn't the purpose of a “No” vote
Corporate Democrats oppose rejecting the filibuster to push through the voting reform we need
Corporate Democrats refuse to use the power of the filibuster to stop bad bills
Corporate Democrats accuse progressives of being “hypocrites” when progressives demand they use the filibuster
Let me sum it up again. We don't have the VRAA because moderates wanted to protect the power of the filibuster, but when we need the power of the filibuster, the moderates refuse to use it.
The motto of the DNC seems to be, “When in doubt, blame Bernie,” even though they never listen.
The messaging is the only thing we have right now. The absolute refusal of establishment Democrats to see anything but their longstanding and misguided (and hubris informed) interpretations of every scenario is what got us into this mess.
They should have voted “No.” They should have forced a shut down. They should have made the Republicans own it. Instead, we've taken one more step in the direction of capitulation.
My advice is to familiarize yourself with these arguments. Those of us who still want to save our nation need to become accustomed to calling out the lies and half truths that are regularly shoved down our throats. We must DEMAND NEGOTIATION.
“NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENATATION!”
The time for passive, feckless leadership ended 10 years ago. Democrats still haven't figured it out.
I want to end this on a positive note, so I will say it warms my heart that Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and now Tim Walz are actively doing town halls in districts where Republicans are too terrified to face their constituents.
That's what we need! We need action! Hand wringing isn't doing anything for us. Neither is lying.
Help to stop the lies. Don't let these bad actors run their mouths and pretend there aren't more scenarios than the one or two they insist on basing their decisions on. They are convincing themselves to do awful things because nobody pushes back when they talk. You have to push back!
Remember this when you're interacting with people online or at work or at the grocery store or wherever. Insist that ALL VIEWPOINTS are recognized, not just fascist narratives.
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Thank you for writing this piece. It puts what just happened in the Senate in clear focus. The Democratic party absolutely must decide to stop doing what they’ve been doing for the past decade and follow those people who have now stepped forward to lead a true opposition party.
As always I appreciate what you have to say. Whether you are teaching me to write for an audience showing me your own fiction, or talking about what's going on in this world, most especially in my particular world. I am so glad to have found you on substack. Everyone should be following you. Your arguments are well thought out and I can feel be honesty of who you are coming out in what you share.