Kate Bolduan: This Is An American Public That Is Willing To Go To A Shutdown

"Kate Bolduan talks with CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten about the public opinion surrounding the government shutdown." 

Source:CNN Kate Bolduan & Harry Enten. Perhaps you can tell for yourself who is who.

From CNN

As my colleague Derik Schneider wrote last Friday. As you'll see, Derik is not impressed with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's political intelligence in this latest Washington soap opera that will probably be known as the "Schumer shutdown": 

"And just for a point of clarification: when I said last week about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's political 'intelligence": "If Leader Schumer lost his political brain in the Potomac River or some place... perhaps he went out drinking with Senator Markwayne Mullin 1 night and lost all his brain cells. (Inside Washington joke...

Yeah, looks like I've overestimated Leader Schumer's political "intelligence" on government shutdowns... at least so far. he still has 4 days and some change to fold faster than the "House Freedom Caucus" when it comes to big government funding bills. Or, like a mouse who is surrounded by a pack of kitties. 

Or, maybe Leader Schumer did lose his political brain in the Potomac River 1 night. 

Or, Leader Schumer went out drinking with Senator Mullin (inside Washington joke) and gave up his political brain cells for all the alcohol that he could pay for. Perhaps Senator Mullin was an inside plant by The White House to get Leader Schumer drunk one night, so he would be political braindead to even contemplate doing this...

From The New Democrat

So if you take the word of this latest CNN poll (and I believe Harry Enten is a solid pollster and political analyst) you would have to think (don't worry, you won't get arrested if you don't think this) that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is only listening to 1/2 of his party right now. And that 1/2 probably doesn't work of the U.S. Government, is not on Medicaid, Medicare, Unemployment Insurance, aren't military veterans, etc. Perhaps just the partisan activist wing of the Democratic Party. 

And if you stick with this political theory, Leader Schumer is ignoring other 1/2 of his party... government workers, military veterans, people on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc... people who run or own businesses that have contracts with Uncle Sam and are at risk of either losing those contracts or having them suspended, because the government is shut down. 

As well as people like myself, who write about these issues for a living, who care about the future of the country, who don't want the Donald Trump's of the world to have absolute power in this country. And who want a Democratic Party that is able to hold the Trump's of the world accountable. 

But I actually think there's something else going on here. I don't like questioning political motives of people, especially who are currently in government, even members of my own party where you would have more credibility in doing that. But as the Minority Leader said so himself for why he didn't go through with the shutdown back in March, when talking to Sunny Hostin on The View:

“First I’d say, Sunny, no one wants to fight more than me, and no one fights more than me. We got to fight smart. It is not true — that bill had far less — it was bad, I hated it,” Schumer said. “But it does far less damage to — Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are far more susceptible to being eliminated, which is what that horrible Musk — can you imagine this guy Musk, a billionaire, saying $1,100 for a senior citizen is not necessary? Or a Ponzi scheme...

From The New Democrat

Leader Schumer's official reasoning for not shutting down the government in March... he didn't want Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Office of Management and Budget to get to decide who gets fired, laid off, has to work for free, who gets paid and who doesn't, who gets their public assistance checks, who doesn't, while the government is shut down. So what's changed? 

What has changed in the last 6-7 months, is after the government funding debate in March, where Senate Democrats just let that bill go through with a majority vote and didn't block it... is Chuck Schumer took a lot of political heat from his left-wing of the party... The Squad and their supporters. There was talk about U.S. Representative Alexandria O. Cortez challenging Schumer in the 2028 New York Democratic primary for U.S. Senate. 

Chuck Schumer is 75 years old, he's been in Congress since 1981, he's been in the Democratic Leadership since 2005. He's the definition of a career politician. Take him out of public office, would be like forcing fish to swim without water. Being a politician and a political leader is the only thing he knows and wants to do. 

And Leader Schumer apparently thinks the way for him to save his Senate seat, is too look cool and tough for "The Squad" and look like he's fighting for them, even if that means putting the future of the Democratic Party at risk and quite frankly the country, if voters think Democrats aren't ready to govern again next year. 

As I said back in February as far as how Democrats, especially the Democratic Leadership, should oppose President Trump and MAGA: 

When you see your arch-enemy is drowning in the ocean. don't throw them a lifeline. Let them drown. 

When you see your arch enemy's house is on fire and no one is there to do anything about it, don't even offer to spit on the fire, let alone dump your own water on it, or call 911. Just let the house burn down. 

Let MAGA burn our national house down. Hopefully they don't destroy the country. But don't help them do that, or try to get in their way, outside of what's going on in the courts and at the state level. Show American voters this is exactly who you voted for and the consequences of that fateful decision. And tell them and show them there's a better way on the campaign trail and why you deserve to be in power again.

From The New Democrat 

The Carville doctrine (authored by longtime Democratic strategist James Carville) is still the right approach here. You don't have to like what MAGA is doing, you don't have to vote for it. What you should do is take what they're doing on the campaign trail and use it against them to get more Democrats elected to Congress in 26. And then maybe you can win back the entire Congress, not just the House. 

But you when become the issue yourself and a reason for why government isn't working, like when you shut the government down, you give voters an opportunity to think: 

"We don't like the Republicans right now. But the Democrats seem like they're part of the problem as well. How would electing more Democrats and even given them power in government, make things better?" 

Which is not the attitude that you want voters thinking about when they go to the voting booths 13 months from now.

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