The Shameful Eight and The Failure of Democratic Leadership [View all]

Last week, Democrats were riding high, not just because they won key races in California, New Jersey and Virginia by sizeable margins, but they also scored wins in places like Georgia and Mississippi that triggered alarm bells up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. This came as public opinion was blaming President Trump and the Republicans for the record government shutdown.

Then the Democrats’ juggernaut derailed as 7 Democrats and Independent Angus King announced that they had signed on to a compromise that appeared to catch House Democrats and some of their Senate colleagues by surprise. In a chamber that has seen brilliant Democratic strategists from LBJ to George Mitchell to Harry Reid, the Shameful Eight instead evoked Homer Simpson as they folded and saved President Trump and the Republicans.

In criticizing their decision, I want to make clear that there is no disputing that the shutdown was having serious consequences, some of which the Trump administration was keen to exacerbate. The shutdown could not go on much longer and, with Trump increasingly indifferent to the shutdown pain as he celebrated in Great Gatsby style, Democrats likely would have to compromise or maybe even fold to reopen the government when the time came.

To their credit, the Federal Folders agreed to Democratic leader Schumer’s request to delay any compromise until after the election. What is inexplicable is why they folded when they did? At a minimum, rather than folding on a Sunday night, they could have waited to give their Senate and/or House Democratic colleagues the heads up in order to enable them to craft a more unified response.

A Failure of Leadership

Learning of the compromise, I was most upset with Senator Durbin because he is the Democratic Whip. How he could so readily throw his caucus under the bus is astounding. I immediately messaged him to urge him to step aside as leader and “let someone with fire in their belly take over.”

Shame on Senator Schumer as well. He knew this was coming, so why was he so unprepared for it? How could the Democrats not have had a unified exit strategy where they would declare victory while allowing the government to reopen on a short-term basis? This only confirms activists’ view of Schumer, with his “stern letters” and monotone floor speeches, as a relic of another era who either fails to appreciate the threat presented by Trump or is incapable of rising to the moment.

The stakes are too high; Schumer and Durbin must step aside without delay before the next shutdown battle and midterm elections.

Equal Branches of Grift

In reaching a deal with the GOP, Senator Kaine did extract some concessions for federal workers, including backpay and reinstatement for laid-off workers, and the bill would fund SNAP for a year.

Yet, when it came to funding Obamacare subsidies, all the Shameful Eight got was a Lucy Brown promise from Majority Leader Thune for a floor vote on funding (but still subject to filibuster and requiring 60 votes). Even worse, they got played like a drum. Senator Thune immediately demonstrated his good faith, as the bill they voted for makes no mention of a future Obamacare vote but included a lottery ticket for eight pro-insurrection Republican Senators that allowed them to sue the government for up to $1 million for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s proper subpoena of their phone providers to get a log of their phone calls with President Trump before and after January 6th. Two of the eight, Senators Hawley (R-MO) and Sullivan (R-AK), are former Attorneys General and are certain to have approved similar subpoenas.

Now, thanks to the esteemed members of the Senate Homer Simpson caucus of Senators Durbin, Shaheen, Kaine, King, Cortez-Mastro, Hassan, and Fetterman (who collectively have 90 years of legislative experience), the Senate just established itself as a co-equal branch of grift.

Carpe Continuing Resolution

The compromise funds the government through January, which means that the party only has ten weeks to regroup and find a general who can lead this fight against a President who will be weakened by a declining economy and the Epstein scandal. From there, the new leadership can carry a revitalized party into the midterms and what could be a promising November.


Bennet Kelley (@bennet.bsky.social) is an award-winning political columnist and blogger, former radio host, and former Co-Founder and National Co-Chair of the Democratic National Committee's young professional fund-raising and outreach arm during the Clinton era. He is a proud native Rhode Islander and practices internet law in Los Angeles.