Democrats maybe the minority party led by NY House Rep. Jeffries…
But?
House Republicans ARE a ‘Hot Mess’….
On paper, Democrats are locked out of legislative power in the majority-rules House. In practice over the past several months, they have been a swaggering force.
Time and again this year, Democrats under Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have maneuvered to successfully undercut the GOP agenda and put its leaders on the back foot. From a daily drumbeat on health care to the long-running saga over the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to a new focus on the rising cost of living, they believe they’re succeeding by making the party in power talk about Democratic priorities, not its own.
Their success was underscored this week when four House Republicans joined a Jeffries-led effort to force a vote on expiring Obamacare insurance subsidies — a major embarrassment for the GOP speaker.
“Our message to Mike Johnson is clear — you can run, but you cannot hide,” Jeffries said as he took a victory lap on the House steps Thursday.
The New Yorker was referring to his party’s effort to address a so-called health care “crisis” brought about by Republican governance. But it could just as well apply to the overall Democratic attitude at the moment, with the party increasingly buoyant about its political fortunes heading into next year’s midterm elections.
Johnson and his leadership allies have been able to put some wins on the board since lawmakers returned from their summer recess. Republicans ultimately triumphed and ended a record-long shutdown without agreeing to a costly extension of the Obamacare subsidies. They managed to unite and pass a small-bore health care package this week as well as a bipartisan permitting reform bill.
But it has come at a cost…
…
Democrats, Jeffries said, have already “won more discharge petitions in the last three weeks than have been successful in the last 30 years.” More could be coming next year, with more lawmakers planning to move on Russia sanctions legislation and a ban on congressional stock trading.
Beyond the discharge petitions, House and Senate Democrats made a larger strategic calculation in September that has since dominated the congressional agenda: centering a government shutdown fight on health care — in particular, the pending Dec. 31 expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits enacted and extended under former president Joe Biden.
The decision shifted the conversation on Capitol Hill away from President Donald Trump’s controversial but popular assault on federal spending to much more favorable political ground for Democrats. The party knew well that health care was a minefield for Republicans — one that many in both parties blamed for the GOP’s massive House losses in the 2018 midterms…
Note…
Not figuring out a way to extend the Biden Obamacare health subistides IS a HEAVY Hammer hanging over Republicans in Blue or Purple House Districts and States….
image…The Hill
I think that the word you want, James, is “swagger” rather than “swag” — which (for example) is what pirates collect or (by ironic allegory) the free (but not tax-free) collection of physical things that Academy Award nominees take away with at the Oscars.
“Swag” is what the kids say. It basically means swagger. We all know james is the ultimate in hip.
Skibidi.
Check the linked piece for the “Swag’ usage….