Here we are at the end of 2017. The plutocrat's Republican Party has jammed its wealthfare bill through Congress, including provisions to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and to eliminate the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, fast- tracked far- right Trump judges through the Senate, refused to provide relief to Dreamers (with help from some spineless Dems), and have acted unilaterally to enact their dystopian agenda for America. Now, with the threat of a Democratic wave election in 2018 looming, cold- blooded turtle/ human hybrid Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell is making noises about more "bipartisanship" in the next session -- meaning they're looking for cover and want to get bailed out by certain deal- making Democrats (=cough= Schumer =cough=), the same Democrats they were perfectly willing to ignore, trash and generally stick it to for the past year in their reckless rush to loot America and prop up dimwit demagogue Donald "Rump" Trump. (If that's not enough, keep in mind what McConnell did to keep Merrick Garland off the Supreme Court!)
Democrats should be confident going into the coming year and not play the game that McConnell and his band of nihilistic thugs would like them to play. They would be wise to follow this advice from Oliver Willis concerning Sens. Susan Collins and "Liddle Bob" Corker falling in line:
This desire to see good in Republicans doing America harm is a liberal failing. They are not allies, or even temporary sources of help. They are part and parcel of the entire Republican machine that installed Trump in the first place and continues to prop up his failed presidency.
There isn’t a dividing line. They’re on the same team. They chose long ago – from even the Nixon years – to put party over country every time. If the choice for the right is destabilizing America or aiding their fellow Republican president, they will always choose the latter.
Quit thinking that this brand of person – just another cultist with fleeting flashes of dignity – is of any worth. They are part of the side trying to submerge America in racism, misogyny, and evil.
They don’t need your help.If, of course, they want to test McConnell's and his Congressional cohorts' sincerity, here are a few things they could demand for their "bipartisan" cooperation:
1. Pass a permanent fix for DACA immediately;
2. Stop efforts to undermine and disparage Special Counsel Robert Mueller, the F.B.I. and the intelligence community, and pass legislation to protect Mueller and his investigation;
3. Shore up Affordable Care Act markets to minimize premium increases due to Republican sabotage of the individual mandate provision;
4. Override the FCC's gutting of net neutrality;
5. End efforts to undercut Dodd- Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Board;
6. A small niggle: have his caucus refer to the Democratic Party, not the pejorative "Democrat" party, a Republican tactic for half a century.
That's just for starters, to see how serious McConnell and his thugs are (spoiler alert: they're not; see Oliver Willis, above). But, wouldn't it be interesting to see Democrats try to leverage action on an agenda to run on in 2018, even if it turns out to be a non- starter for now?
BONUS: Digby concurs.
