Trump just handed Democrats their midterm message - Emanuel WaPo

[question everything]

Democrats need to have a frank conversation — with themselves.
We must acknowledge where we are and appreciate what we can realistically accomplish. Yes, we should oppose the MAGA agenda at every turn. But given that we control neither the bully pulpit nor any congressional gavel, we need to focus foremost on what’s winnable: next year’s midterm elections. At core, the 2026 campaign will be a referendum on President Donald Trump and his rubber-stamp Republicans in Congress. Our task is to help the public understand what the Republicans are doing and how it affects them. That job begins with Trump’s audaciously named One Big Beautiful Bill.

This will likely be the most significant piece of legislation to pass during Trump’s term and should be understood by the public in one phrase: “tax cuts for the wealthy, health-care cuts for the many.” The simplicity of that binary is its virtue. Trump is a chaos machine — a disciple of professional wrestling who will try to distract from the underlying reality. (See his comment that he’s “not going to touch [Medicaid].”) We can’t chase every shiny bauble — we need to laser focus on points that will deliver strategic value. This is our opportunity to define Trump and his congressional enablers.

Recall that we spent 2024 trying to convince Americans that our democracy was in Trump’s crosshairs. That message failed. We now need to paint the reality we know and the public perceives, but which the Trump Show often obscures: The administration and its Capitol Hill minions are beacons of the three C’s: corruption, chaos and cruelty. Set aside the rhetoric about fascism, oligarchies or Democratic weakness. Any utterance that fails to burnish the public’s understanding of the three C’s is our own distraction. The present fight over the budget bill, which the House approved Thursday morning, is the ripest opportunity we’ll have to lift the fog that can define 2026.

(snip)

This is the binary choice we need to sharpen. Set aside Trump’s crypto schemes and his solicitation of Qatar’s “free” plane — those are baked into the electorate’s deep-seated cynicism. As recent polling has shown, the public is poised to believe they’re being fleeced by the Trump “system.” That’s what the rubber-stamp Republicans will have done when this bill cuts more people’s health care than any other in history. The goal of a Democratic counterproposal is not to bring peace among the Democratic factions — it is to bring disquiet to the GOP.

Which brings us to the last point: In this situation, less is more. Democrats don’t need to produce a whole budget plan. The counterproposal is not going to become law. They simply need to compel Republicans in swing districts and states to take a vote that raises taxes on the well-to-do and restores health care for the many.

More..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/22/democrats-trump-budget-bill-taxes-health-care/


(for some reason I cannot get the free link)

[gab13by13]

1. So you agree with Chuck Schumer's strategy

to let Krasnov burn it all down and then beat them in the election? The Big Ugly Death Bill isn't law yet. Shouldn't Democrats be working to kill the bill?

[unblock]

3. I'm all for trying to make it as difficult as possible for them, but realistically,

They *will* enact a ludicrous law that screws ordinary people in order to make the tax cuts for the rich permanent.

They will quibble about details, and there may be a bit of drama, but eventually, the republicans will fall in line and pass something that's 98% what's already on the table.

They have trifecta and they simply can't fail to pass something hideous. They all know it would be a disaster for them to disappoint their backing billionaires. Some of the billionaires don't care about anything other than this one bill. They bought this congress so those cuts could be made permanent. It's going to happen.

We shouldn't "let" it happen, but in practice, we can't stop it from happening. The best we can do is slow them down, make it as awkward as possible for them, and get some good talking points out of it.

[question everything]

4. Schumer "strategy" makes all the recent decisions by Federal judges happen

From LBN

A federal judge further halts Trump's radical transformation of government

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143464688

The government could still be closed were it not for Schumer

[AltairIV]

2. agreed

Keep it simple and laser focused, and constantly attack, attack, and attack.