Every day since the Democrats took power, I wake up feeling a little safer, a little less stressed, and wondering why they still can’t get it together.
What I mean by that is we still don’t have so many things that were promised by Biden and the Democrats if they were given the majority power. If we elected them, we were told, we’d have voter rights bills, DACA bills, immigration bills, infrastructure bills, taxing the rich bills, DC and Puerto Rico as states, more moderate judges appointed, a robust Department of Justice, and so and and so forth, passed into law. Mind you, I’ve been around long enough to know a politician running for office—Democrat, Republican, or Trumpest—will say just about anything to get elected. I’m not that naive.
But I did, and do, expect them to enact basic legislation, such as the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voter Rights Act. These two should be no brainers.
Alas, all we have is infighting in the Democratic caucus. The Progressives want it their way, the Moderates want it their way. The House wants it one way, the Senate the other. So far, nothing really has been accomplished outside of two Covid relief bills; great bills, needed bills, but not the only bills needed to correct the rights of the wronged.
The Democrats are so good at yanking defeat out of the mouth of victory. They have the power. Unlike the Republicans and Trumpests, they want to govern. They just don’t seem to have the gumption, or the sense of urgency, in many matters that count for the protection of the people and democracy.
They don’t seem to be able to corral Manchin or Sinema in the Senate. They don’t seem to be able to corral Jayapal in the House. Schumer seems quite powerless. Pelosi seems to have lost the grip she had on House Democrats. I don’t mean there shouldn’t be healthy debate as there should. What I do mean is the longer it takes for them to pass bills into law, the more likely the American people will have lost interest, partly because of the long time it takes to do anything and the minutiae of the process. Both sides, in the Democrat ballpark, don’t seem to see how a loss of the majority in 2022 means they will no longer be able to make things happen.
When I say they are the wrong people for these political times, it is the leaders and hold outs, and precedent.
We are in the midst of a looming financial crisis with the end date for raising the debt ceiling, and in the midst of a huge power grab by the Trumpist’s. In the midst of all this, what are they talking about, a $3.5T infrastructure bill.
It is easy to talk about these things, but eventually we want to see action. The action though, that is truly needed above all other things, is voting rights. A voting rights bill should be front and center each and every day until Majority Leader Schumer takes Manchin and Sinema to the woodshed, and doesn’t come out until he gets to the core of the matter of either resolving why Manchin and Sinema are obstructing the plan, or letting them know now is the time to get it together and vote for Voting Rights legislation.
Without this top priority vote, the Democrats may never have a majority again due to the number of state laws allowing the override of certification of the will of the people, or takes the power to certify elections away from Secretary’s of State.
It often seems our elected officials concentrate and put all of their efforts into things that would be nice, but hardly ever the things that must be addressed. I often believe that even the Democrats have lost touch with what is happening around them in plain sight, or purposefully choose to ignore it because they can, A) Raise money off of the issue, B) They don’t have the backbone to do the right thing, or C) Just like Republicans and Trumpists, they want it to look like they care, but really as long as they keep their jobs, it doesn’t really matter (and most will keep their jobs regardless of what happens).
If the Democrats were as serious about democracy as they say they are, several things would be happening. The filibuster would be ended, or at least those calling for a filibuster would actually have to carry it out, and when they stop talking, the Senate votes—end of story. They would already have passed a voter rights bill. They would have already started the process to bring DC and Puerto Rico into statehood. They would already have begun to repair and balance the court system. And as important as a voter rights bill, the Department of Justice would be going hard to bring the insurrectionists, DeJoy with the mailed ballot and other issues, and Trump, his family, and his loyal staffers would all have been arrested and preparing to stand trial for all of their offenses to the people and the Constitution.
Earlier this week I received a text from Pelosi asking for money. Her pitch was because the Republicans are raising so much money, the Democrats needed to raise as much or more to stop them. I texted back I would gladly give them money, but not until after the Democrats have passed comprehensive election reform/voter rights act. As you might imagine, I didn’t receive a response.
I stand by my word though. In the last election I gave both money, a voice, and my vote to Democrats with the expectation of them doing and passing the right bills for the American people. So far they have not delivered. If, and seems a big if, the Democrats take democracy seriously, truly wanting to save it, they will pass a comprehensive voter rights act.
Until then, Democrats will get none of my hard earned money. I invite you to do the same until they get their act together and take the necessary action.
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 