Democrats Need to Focus on Power, Not Healthcare

Jonathan Last: “So far as I can tell, the Democratic ask on the shutdown negotiations boils down to:

• “Preserving ACA subsidies for low-income people that will keep health care premiums lower.”
• “Undoing Republican cuts to Medicaid in order to preserve healthcare access, especially in poor, rural areas.”

“This is political malpractice.”

“Democrats have Trump over a barrel. The government is shut down. Real-world impacts from the last piece of Republican legislation will start crushing voters, soon. And the Democrats’ proposal is to… save Trump from the political costs of the shutdown by saving him from the political costs of his Big Beautiful Bill?”

“Don’t do these things that will make you unpopular, Mr. President, and then we’ll give you the votes you need to end the shutdown, which is also making you unpopular.”