The Democrats Take a Trick From the Tea Party

"There are at least two layers to the government shutdown now about to enter its second week. One is the standard fight between the two major parties, which has defined most government shutdowns since Bill Clinton was forced to share power with a Republican-controlled Congress in 1995. The second is a battle within the Democratic Party, with disenchanted progressives simultaneously pressuring and revolting against an ossified leadership class they perceive as constantly losing to President Donald Trump."

"Rank-and-file progressives believe, like their conservative counterparts before them, that they belong to a party led by people who are too old and too nice, who play by the rules while the other side breaks them. This leadership legitimacy crisis isn't the only reason Democrats are polling abysmally as the first year of Trump's second term winds down, but it's an important one."

"The second, more familiar shutdown dynamic is Democrats hoping to beat Republicans in a partisan political fight using what little leverage the party has against the GOP "trifecta"-a term like "gaggle" and "pool spray" that political reporters force us to use because they hate us and want us to sound ridiculous-of the House, Senate, and White House. Even this part of the shutdown slog is a little different than usual, because the Democrats are up to the Tea Party's old tricks."

The government shutdown reflects both a standard partisan clash and an internal Democratic revolt by progressives. Progressives are pressuring and revolting against an ossified Democratic leadership viewed as too old and too conciliatory while opponents flout norms. The dynamic parallels the Tea Party rebellion against Republican establishment figures and helped set the stage for Trump. Leadership legitimacy concerns contribute to poor Democratic poll numbers late in the first year of Trump's second term. Democrats are leveraging limited power against the GOP trifecta to seek policy concessions, at times refusing to support "clean" funding measures.

Read at The American Conservative