Senate Surrender Spikes Backlash That Could Remake the Democratic Party
Five days after voters overwhelmingly rejected MAGA politics at the polls, a handful of moderate Democratic senators did their best to undermine that victory: they caved and signed onto to a deal to reopen the government without any meaningful concessions. It triggered a backlash that could significantly reshape the party going forward.
Most notably, the defectors gave up without even a one-year extension of existing Affordable Care Act health insurance tax credits — which could cause millions to lose health insurance they can no longer afford. Here in California, monthly premiums will increase 97% on average for nearly 1.7 million Californians enrolled in the state’s marketplace, according to the California Medical Association. As a result, as many as 400,000 Californians could be priced out of health care coverage.
Preserving the tax credits was supported by 74% of the public and 94% of Democrats according to the most recent Kaiser Foundation poll.
The resulting backlash was immediately visible online. But it wasn’t just people expressing outrage. There was significant evidence of people taking action — and committing to it long-term.
The election results had inspired a spike in potential candidates signing up to run for office with Run For Something, which mentors under-40 progressives to run for office — 5,000 signed up in the week after the election. But the Senate cave caused a spike within the spike, with nearly 1,200 signing in the next 24 hours. “This shit is why people don’t trust the Democratic Party,” Run For Something co-founder Amanda Litman quipped on social media, shortly after the vote.
Indivisible — a key backer of the No Kings movement — went even further. Within hours, it announced the launching of the largest Democratic primary program it had ever run. Its own polling showed its membership overwhelmingly opposed caving on the ACA: 98.67% opposed, to be exact.
“This isn’t about left vs right. This is about fighting back vs losing,” co-founder Ezra Levin wrote in a letter to supporters. The cave was “bad policy” and “bad politics” that “will embolden the regime to do more damage,” and was a result of failed leadership by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his team. “The only path to a real opposition party is through a cleansing primary season,” Levin wrote. “One thing we can say for sure: We will not back any Senate primary candidate unless they call for Schumer to step down as Majority Leader.”
While Schumer voted against ending the shutdown, Levin called it “kabuki theater,” noting that “It’s the leadership’s job to unify the Dem caucus to fight the fascists. That’s it. Their individual votes are irrelevant.” In March when a similar shutdown loomed — Democrats first chance to block Trump’s power-grab — Schumer’s surprise last-minute decision to support the GOP spending bill angered Democrats of all stripes — especially in the House where all but one had voted against it. Even centrists denounced it for giving Republicans license to continue dismantling the government.
Schumer’s supporters argued that Democrats had to play a long game, and wait for the shutdown fight in September. But while mass organized resistance has dramatically helped turn public opinion against Trump, senators seem hopelessly out of touch,
Local Leaders Speak Out
Levin’s message resonated with local Indivisible leaders who Random Lengths contacted.
“We at Lakewood Indivisible are reaching out to our senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, to demand that they support the removal of Senator Schumer as Senate Minority Leader,” said Heather Rodriguez. “Once again Senator Schumer has refused to fight back against the most critical threat to ever face American democracy. He has failed to control his caucus, allowing eight Democrats to help Republicans reopen the government while getting no meaningful concessions and none of what Democrats asked for in exchange.”
The original Dem demands were threefold, Levin reminded in his letter:
- Permanent extension of the ACA subsidies
- Medicaid funding restored
- No more blank checks for the regime (rescission/impoundment restrictions)
But “Democrats dropped the Medicaid funding demands immediately after making them. They then stopped talking about rescission and impoundment. They dropped from ‘permanent’ to ‘multi-year’ to, finally, ‘one year’ of ACA subsidies this week.” That last watered-down demand, was “actually the same demand as front-line Republican House members scared about reelection,” he noted. “But they couldn’t even hold the line there — they surrendered without even getting that.”
“I am incredibly disappointed and, honestly, a bit confused about the Democrat shutdown cave,” said Ashley Craig, with Long Beach Indivisible. “Why would they do this now? After all this time? We were winning yet they felt the need to give in, right after an incredible showing in the elections last week.”
“We demand leadership that will actually fight for and represent us,” said Kenny Johnson, with South Bay Indivisible. “The strongest position we have been in, with the best proof that progressive policies can win, along with all the prep work groups like ours have done to ensure people can survive the shutdown, meant nothing to the members who caved, and to Senator Schumer, who did nothing to prevent the defection,” he said. “When the status quo fails us, it’s time for new leaders.”
“We need new leadership — actually we need true leadership!” Craig added.
“They have their fingers in the wind, and we are the wind,” said Melanie Jones, with San Pedro Indivisible. “We have a lot of power, if we will use it.” And it’s not just about Democrats, she noted. “All Republicans and Democrats who will not fight to defend the Constitution, we should replace them with people who will. It’s the one thing we’re all supposed to have in common. They swore an oath to that. It’s their job.”
“Democratic voters are tired of seeing their elected officials fail to fight for them and are no longer willing to accept the excuse that there’s nothing that can be done,” said Johnson. “You can’t be the opposition party while simultaneously capitulating as soon as things get tough.”
“There’s a lot of discussion about whether the future of the Democratic Party is Mamdani or Spanberger, but I think most voters just want somebody they believe will fight for them,” Johnson said.
“We all agree we have to fight. We have to primary and get better Democrats,” said Peter Warren, with San Pedro Indivisible. But it’s not just a matter of one election cycle. “It’s going to require a lot of change over time.”
His views were similar to those of Josh Marshall, founder of Talking Points Memo, one of the oldest political blogs. “I really don’t care that much about the individual players. I have much bigger ambitions,” Marshall wrote. “We’re in a battle for at least the rest of this decade that will require a very different kind of Democratic Party — not one that is more right or left but one that is both comfortable using power and knows how to do it.”
Random Lengths also reached out to representatives Nanette Barragán and Robert Garcia. Garcia didn’t respond, but Barragán did, deferring on Indivisible’s main question, but signaling a stronger willingness to fight.
“As a member in the House, I will leave the Senate leadership up to the Senators,” she said. “I disagree with the Republican Senate bill that failed to provide any relief for Americans facing skyrocketing healthcare premiums. As if that were not enough, the corrupt provision to pay eight Republican Senators a million dollars a piece, as a minimum, was outrageous and dirty. I voted no.”
While GOP Senate leader John Thune promised a standalone vote on ACA extension in the Senate, there’s been no such promise in the House. “I have signed onto a discharge petition in the House that would extend the ACA tax credits for 3 years. We need just three Republicans to join House Democrats to force a vote on this 3-year extension,” Barragán said. Since the Senate Democrats’ position had just called for a one-year extension, this represents a welcome strengthening of what Democrats are fighting for.
“None of our Congressional electeds need to be primaried,” Warren said. “Senators Schiff and Padilla, as well as Rep. Lieu and Barragán are solid members of Congress. They represent us well.”
But, he added, “We do have a critical primary for governor, where Katie Porter is a strong candidate and would be a superior governor. She takes no corporate campaign contributions, according to her website. She is known for using simple explanations on a whiteboard to expose corporate greed and hypocrisy during Congressional hearings.”
“We’re gonna win some of these fights, we’re gonna lose some of these primary fights,” Levin said on the Contrarian podcast. “And you know what we’re gonna do after all of them win or lose? We’re gonna rally around whichever Democrat wins, and we’re gonna say, that’s our candidate, and we’re gonna beat the fascists with that candidate.”