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Democratic Leadership Dangerously Gets It Even MORE Wrong [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-09-05

When I first wrote about how some cowardly democrats still did not understand the moment, it was before Trump called in the National Guard to occupy Washington D.C., it was before Trump ordered an extrajudicial assassination of people who may have been smuggling drugs or may have been refugees (we don’t know), it was before Trump threatened to place National Guard in other U.S. Cities against the wishes of the Democratic Governors, it was before Trump tried to rig a midterm election he knows he’s losing, and most frightening of all, before Trump considers revoking the constitutional rights of transgender individuals. Since that time, our Democratic Senators and Leadership have now managed to … misread the moment even worse. How is this even possible?

This latest wave of bad judgment started over the weekend, with an exchange between Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and some real clear politics goon on X (Twitter), where Sen. Schatz concedes the right-leaning Beltway framing that lockdown efforts (instigated entirely under President Trump and by red and blue states alike) somehow led to a backlash against public health, punishing Democrats.

x I've never seen such a disconnect between Dem elected/staff/consultants and actual Dem voters. The latter understand what's going on. The former are awash in right-wing brainrot, hence @schatz.bsky.social blaming COVID mitigation and BLM marches for the GOP's wanton destruction of public health.



[image or embed] — Max Kennerly (@maxkennerly.bsky.social) September 1, 2025 at 11:04 AM

First, there is no ethical use of X (Twitter). Post campaign stuff, fine, but don’t hang out there and talk to RCP chuds. Second, I’m surprised Sen. Schatz didn’t go on to blame Democrats’ misfortunes on tanking Robert Bork’s Supreme Court nomination back in 1987.

x The average person and pundit (and apparently US Senator) being totally unable to correctly answer “who was POTUS in 2020?” explains a disturbingly large amount of our current situation. — Skoo Bly User (@gapineesq.bsky.social) September 1, 2025 at 12:14 PM

Listen, the right’s love for a disease that killed 1.2 million people isn’t hard to understand. You’re dealing with people virulently opposed to helping others, and constitutionally incapable of tolerating any communal or cooperative response. Oh, and by the way, public opinion is with the Democrats on this:

Moving on, we have the ongoing saga in New York where Zohran Mamdani has won the Democratic primary for mayor by a large majority, fair and square, over sex pest and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, but:

For the New York Democratic Senators (Schumer and Gillibrand), as well as Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, to refuse to endorse the clear winner of the Democratic primary for Mayor is unconscionable, and looks worse by the day. How can Democratic leadership call for support of any primary winner in the future if they won't take a stand here? I understand initial hesitancy when dealing with someone affiliated with DSA. I had concerns too. But it has been abundantly clear Mr. Mamdani is in the lead, and that those fears were baseless.

Finally today, we learn that after folding to Republicans in spring with the continuing resolution, Democratic leadership, despite having considerable leverage to help Republicans pass the next one in September, is preparing to … fold again? Josh Marshall asks: what are Democratic Senators even thinking here?

Further thought by Josh Marshall reasons out that Democratic Senators likely think that by doing nothing to upset Republicans, they somehow retain their strong chance to win in November 2026. Josh Marshall calls this plan total bullshit. The Obamacare subsidies don’t expire until the end of 2025. But now, Democrats will likely lead a bipartisan effort to temporarily extend the Obamacare subsidy enhancements past that vulnerable 2026 election as a solid favor for Republicans, despite Republicans voting for the end of these enhancements in the first place to give tax cuts to billionaires.

Democrats, with their party approval in the absolute gutter, believe that this cowardly approach is just what is needed right now, because otherwise, people might blame them for … what? Democrats wouldn’t be shutting anything down. They simply wouldn’t be voting in favor.

And just when I thought we were done for the day, we have the two new horrors, the first being the extrajudicial killings.

x And we’re now one day closer to the day when Trump tells the military to do the same thing to US citizens.



[image or embed] — CJ NOW+ (@charles.littlegreenfootballs.com) September 4, 2025 at 8:26 PM

That nobody in the military chain of command questioned this likely illegal act does not bode well.

x Blue State Governors better have National Guard Generals they know and can trust to do the right thing when the time comes. — NoFortunateSon (@nofortunate.bsky.social) September 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM

Then we learn that Trump wants to revoke transgender Americans second amendment rights. As opposed to guns as I am, I'm fully aware this won't be the last right to be revoked.

x Also, "we're going to take this group's guns but not the guns from the people who hate this group" is.... uh. Let's just say it's not accidental, and the outcomes of that decision if implemented will also not be accidental. — CalmKitty (@calmkitty.bsky.social) 2025-09-04T19:20:13.999Z

As before, this is a criticism of Democratic leadership and not all Democrats.

Gov. Newsom gets it, by trolling Trump online.

Gov. Pitzker gets it, by threatening Trump.

Mr. Mamdani gets it, by using social media to completely disembowel the Murdoch Post.

Ridicule, mockery, and weakness are kryptonite to authoritarians. But a lot of our Senators seem more concerned with quietly returning to business as usual should they be given the chance to hold power again, and that's a very dangerous stance to take these days.

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