04|An Absent Congress. Reader Poll 🗳️
Does the Democratic Party need new leaders?
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s about-face on the Republican spending bill was as disappointing as it was unsurprising. He went from ‘unified in opposition’ to moving the bill forward in less than two days. Woodstock was longer. The lack of courage was so predictable, I had written an essay weeks ago about the party leadership’s inability to meet this moment. On Thursday, all we had to do was update the lead and click publish. I believe we are overdue for a change in Congress. Do you? We want to know. Vote in the poll below. —Stacey
3 Big Things: Where is Congress?
1️⃣ Article 1? Article none. 👻❶
The GOP spending bill passed this week left out an important detail: directions on how to appropriate the money. The omission is by design and concedes even more power from Article 1 (Congress) to Article 2 (the President)—at a time when the Trump Administration has been ignoring congressional (and judicial) instructions already. Congress is meant to have constitutional power over spending and power to curb the executive. Critics called the bill a “power grab” by the executive branch, and Congress rubber-stamped it.
2️⃣ How the parties do obstruction. 🛑🧱
Republicans held a Supreme Court seat open for a year during the Obama Administration. Democrats weren’t able to hold a CR for 48 hours at a time when voters are asking the party to do something—anything.
3️⃣ -2.4% 📉💲
Tariff chaos and government inefficiency have taken hold, and we are starting to see real-world pain. Businesses have paused hiring and growth; people have lost their livelihoods; consumers across political ideologies are scared. The Atlanta Fed is predicting the economy will drop 2.4 percent in the first quarter of this year. For context: U.S. GDP fell by 4.3 percent from “peak to trough” in the first years of the Great Recession (Dec. 2007-June 2009).
Featured this week
Should Schumer and Jeffries be replaced? Why The leadership crisis in the Democratic Party is threatening the future of the republic
Reclaiming Reason: In part 2 of our series on cognitive dissonance, we discuss how you rebuild democracy in the aftermath of cognitive collapse
Editor’s note:
We often talk about how the Democratic Party seems to play by old rules, pre-Tea Party standards. They continue to be convinced that decorum and process are more important than democracy and results. While respect, honor, and decency are important norms to uphold, representative democracy can be messy sometimes—impolite. The kind of ‘good trouble’ Stacey talks about. And not only can it be; it must be in the face of injustice and fascism. Because democracy is a set of values, not a code of etiquette. Yours in Revolution —Álio
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." —Maya Angelou