The Senate Democratic leader and his Gang of Eight keep trying to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. On Thursday, they told their caucus colleagues they had ten votes to reopen the government—in exchange for no real Republican concessions.
Affordable Care Act
Posted inTAP
The Wave Election and the Politics of Shutdown
The most remarkable thing about Tuesday’s election was not just the Democratic sweep but how normally it went off. Republicans are now fracturing, and Democrats, almost in spite of themselves, are united.
Posted inTAP
The End of the Pre-Trump 21st Century
This week brought down the curtain on the initial, pre-Trump years of the 21st century, with the death of Dick Cheney and, today, Nancy Pelosi’s announcement that this would be her final term in Congress.
Posted inPolitics
Chuck Schumer Is Not Fit to Lead the Democratic Party
The Senate leader doesn’t just betray his own party, he’s also terrible at leading it. In Trump’s second term, facing a full-on authoritarian attack on America’s democracy and constitutional structure, Schumer is simply incapable of mounting a determined resistance.
Posted inPolitics
Trump Lost the Politics of the Shutdown
On a political level, Democrats have succeeded in painting Republicans as mean and unfeeling stewards of American decline. But Trump may win on policy nonetheless, as a gang of Democrats prepares to squander their leverage based on a vague assurance.
Posted inHealth and Social Policy
The Health Insurance Cost Crisis Is Now Upon Us
The price hikes won’t happen until January 1, but open enrollment begins on November 1, ten days from now—and the average exchange beneficiary will see their premium costs more than double.
Posted inPolitics
The New Republican Voice of Sanity Is … Marjorie Taylor Greene?
Greene has emerged as something of a Republican voice of reason, at least by the standards of MAGA in 2025, perhaps the lowest bar imaginable. That might be useful for Democrats.
Posted inPolitics
To Win the Shutdown, Democrats Need a Big Switch
Democrats have positioned the shutdown as about health care, which is very easy for Republicans to dismiss.
Posted inPolitics
The ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ Phase of the Shutdown
These haphazard funding cuts and firings will only continue, because they are manifestly not tied to a shutdown
Posted inPolitics
Democrats Offer a (Partial) No Kings Budget
Provisions in the counteroffer to a continuing resolution would prevent illegal withholding of funds and partisan budget cuts.