World War D? (Let's Not.)

By Miss Kubelik

Gosh, we're seeing so much anger from our party on social media that we've decided only to look at tweets and skeets about last night's lunar eclipse or today's swearing-in of the new Canadian Prime Minister. The rest is a headache we don't need, thank you very much.

Nevertheless, we have to say: Our left wing's frustration with the overall lack of Democratic pushback against Trump is completely understandable. And our members in tight House districts who put their careers on the line to vote "no" on the CR are rightly furious.

But we have to pick our battles. As painful as it is to say: Perhaps this wasn't the one? Maybe we don't want to change the narrative on who's responsible for the current clusterfuck that passes for the State of the Union? (Right now, people are saying the Republicans own it.)

Look, we might as well admit it: Preacher of the House Johnson and the Republicans backed us into a corner, giving us what Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rightly called a Hobson's Choice. The CR is terrible. But in a shutdown, the Trumpsters and their GOP allies would have been able to leave departments and agencies they don't like closed forever. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? The Environmental Protection Agency? The Department of Education? The Social Security Administration? Yes, the Muskovites have already done great damage to many of these institutions, but why give the Republicans the opportunity to simply never reopen them — when the judiciary, slow and creaky as it is, seems poised to support our side?

Another way of looking at this is that the Senate Democrats who voted "yes" today were giving cover to others — like Jon Ossoff of Georgia, in a tight race next year — who voted "no." (Never mind that the Trumpian shitshow that's raining down on us day after day after day means that no one is going to remember this event next week, let alone during the midterm elections next year.)

So, please — let's not make matters worse by forming a Democratic circular firing squad and talking about primarying people. That's what Benedict Donald and the fascists want. Let's focus instead on the 17 vulnerable House Republicans — and how Democrats like Governor Tim Walz are parachuting into GOP-held districts during this Congressional recess to hold our own versions of town halls.

Want proof that that town hall strategy will work? Check out what happened in Asheville, North Carolina, yesterday. Not only did Republican Chuck Edwards get his head handed to him, the whole event devolved into something out of World War Z. (People were even mad about Benedict Donald's treatment of Canada! Now, that's progress.) American voters are furious, so this is the way to go. Governor Walz, please add Asheville to your itinerary. We cats PURR.