It is the year 2021, a year full of hope for the Democratic (not the Republican pejorative \u201cDemocrat\u201d) Party.\u00a0\u00a0We have a President, Joe Biden.\u00a0\u00a0He won the nomination by appealing to the middle of the Party, not the Progressive wing of Sanders and Warren and Jayapal.\u00a0\u00a0It doesn\u2019t mean the Progressives aren\u2019t important, they make up a big portion of the Party, and some of its best ideas.\u00a0\u00a0But Biden was a man of moderation, and we knew it coming in.\u00a0\u00a0So did the American people that elected him with the biggest vote total in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a slim majority in the House of Representatives, and the narrowest of margins in the Senate. It takes all of us Democrats, working as a unit, to get anything done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And America expects we will get \u201cstuff done\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We may do it in the typical Democratic fashion, with pulling and pushing and complaining in every direction, and with disappointment in not achieving everything we hoped for. But we MUST get \u201cstuff done\u201d, however the \u201csausage is made\u201d to get there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Republican Party (I wish there was a similar pejorative \u2013 the \u201cRepubs\u201d?) has thrown down a gauntlet. They are refusing to participate in governing the nation. They have abrogated their responsibility, the duty created by winning elections. The Repubs have simply said: you have the majority \u2013 so you govern. We will sit on the sidelines and hope for your failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What a terrible position to take. What an Un-American way to be \u2013 we didn\u2019t win so we will take \u201cour ball\u201d and go home. It\u2019s the kids on the playground you didn\u2019t like, the guys on the sidelines who, instead of contributing to the team, undercut every advance. But we can\u2019t control what they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What the Democratic Party can do, in its ugly, multi-directional fashion, is determine what needs to get done and do it. And these next two weeks are the crisis, the crux of whether we can govern or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s the debt ceiling, an artificial issue created just so that everyone could go and campaign about it. The laws are already passed, and the money already allocated. Now, we have to pass a law saying that the actions we have already taken are OK. Let\u2019s think about that: I have a credit card with a $30,000 limit. I spend $35,000. My credit card company would have stopped me at $30,000, but instead, just asks if I want to raise my limit. If I say yes, I get the $35,000 that I\u2019ve ALREADY SPENT. If I say no, then whoever I spent the last $5000 with doesn\u2019t get paid. That wrecks my credit rating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision was made when the money was spent in the first place. There is no decision about raising the debt ceiling now \u2013 it\u2019s ALREADY SPENT. So the only argument is, do we want to wreck our credit rating, or not. And if that\u2019s an issue for us Democrats \u2013 then we really don\u2019t deserve to govern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it is for the Repubs \u2013 they are willing to sit on their hands \u2013 no, worse \u2013 they are willing to vote NO and wreck the US credit rating for political gain.\u00a0\u00a0That says a lot about who they are.\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile, it\u2019s our government to run \u2013 and we\u2019d better run it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there\u2019s the infra-structure plan. Everyone\u2019s already agreed to the first $1 Trillion. Now we are arguing about how much more to spend \u2013 somewhere between none and $3.5 Trillion. I know we Democrats want to get a lot done, for people, for America, and most importantly, for all of those Americans who have been left behind in the last three decades of prosperity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the core of the Progressive agenda. This is what they ran for office to do. And those Progressives feel that they have a mandate from the 2020 election to get this done. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But no one is going to get \u201cthe whole pie\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0The moderate Democrats aren\u2019t willing to go as far, spend as much.\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s partly because they don\u2019t think they can get re-elected if they do, and partly because they really don\u2019t believe it\u2019s the right thing to do.\u00a0\u00a0So there\u2019s a negotiation to be had.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s between Sanders and Manchin, Jayapal and\u00a0Gottheimer; to reach a \u201cdeal\u201d that no one will be happy with \u2013 but everyone can live with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And finally, there’s the most critical issue of all – the voting rights acts. We Democrats – all of us – agree on big portions of it. And the Repubs will stand as a block against all of it. So again, we must deal, agree to disagree, and put forth a plan to protect the voting rights of all Americans. It is not only in the best interest of the Democratic Party – it is in the best traditions of our Democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if we Democrats can\u2019t do that \u2013 then I guess the Repubs are right \u2013 we don\u2019t deserve to govern. So, my fellow Democrats, get talking, get negotiating, and get this show on the road.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"