You’d think that after the Democrats overperformed during the early November special elections (winning both the New York City mayoral race and the Virginia gubernatorial race), the blue donkeys would be enjoying a wave of momentum and good will.
This was supposed to be the turning point for a political party that had been rudderless and floundering from the moment former President Joe Biden announced — and eventually withdrew — a doomed re-election bid.
Funny thing, that hasn’t really happened, for a number of reasons.
The key reason? Ironically enough, it’s probably the very same thing that helped Democrats overperform during those elections: the government shutdown.
To put it bluntly, supporters were miffed when the Democrats voted to end the government shutdown shortly after those elections. To many, it appeared like this government shutdown wasn’t about securing long-term health care coverage for those on Obamacare, but rather a mechanism to boost voter turnout.
The shutdown controversy even left a lawmaking mother and daughter at each other’s throats.
(And that’s to say nothing about some of the unrelated drama afflicting the Dems.)
It’s actually very on-brand for the Democrats to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, but that appears to be where we are, a few weeks removed from those elections.
Are Democrats trying to manipulate the health care issue for their political advantage?
What’s not nearly as on-brand? CNBC being visibly annoyed with the whataboutism coming from Democratic leadership about what the government shutdown was really about.
On Friday’s “Squawk Box,” CNBC host Becky Quick spoke to House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries about a variety of topics, including the future of Obamacare.
You can watch the whole segment for yourself below:
Quick would eventually grill Jeffries on the Democrats proposing a three-year Obamacare extension — something that Republicans will undoubtedly reject.
“You only need four House Republicans to have to sign on to it to get this passed,” Quick said. “But the idea of saying that this is a 3-year extension, instead of a 1- or even 2-year extension, has any potential Republican saying, ‘Forget it, this is dead on arrival.’”
Quick then noted that Nebraska GOP Rep. Don Bacon had effectively confirmed that theory. Bacon was, however, ready to vote on a 2-year extension.
“So, if this is something that you want to satiate, if you want to get done, you are going to need at least some Republicans to come over,” Quick added. “Why not start with a 1-year extension, or potentially even a 2-year extension?”
“Well Leader [Chuck] Schumer offered a 1-year extension in the context of trying to end the Trump-Republican shutdown, and that was just — ” Jeffries began.
“– That’s different,” interjected Quick. “I’m talking about what you have now. Let’s not go back to what’s done in the past, and what has not been extended. If you want to get something actually done, you need something that will have bipartisan support.”
An increasingly flustered Jeffries responded: “You can ask me the question, I’ll provide the answer.”
“Answer the question, instead of going back,” Quick shot back.
“No, no, I’m providing an answer in order to provide context,” Jeffries said. “Republicans have repeatedly refused to take yes for an answer. It was a very reasonable, multi-year extension that was offered.
“It was a 1-year straight extension, plus a multi-year process through a bipartisan commission to more permanently resolve the Affordable Care Act issue.
“So having that context is absolutely important, regardless of what you may think.”
Quick fired back with a biting response to Jeffries’ snark.
“OK, it’s important context to make me realize that I don’t think you want to get a deal done,” Quick said. “I think this is something where you’d like to see the rates go higher and allow the Republicans to hang themselves with that. Is that the answer? Is this politics?”
(Yes.)
“That’s, that’s, that’s absolutely a ridiculous assertion,” Jeffries said.
“Three years is not going to get passed,” Quick responded.
“Shame on you for saying that,” Jeffries said.
It’s at this point that Quick clearly had had enough of Jeffries’ bluster, as she very visibly rolled her eyes, shook her head in disbelief, and even shot one of her co-hosts or staffers an utterly exasperated look.
Look, this writer will never bend over backward to laud CNBC. It’s a part of the establishment, and that’s all you really need to know about them.
But credit where it’s due, Quick saw this farce for what it was and was clearly over it all — even if her journalistic veneer had to come off for a bit.
The thing Democrats have to realize is that most Americans have no journalistic standards to adhere to.
And they’re seeing the same old nonsense from a party that should be riding high right now.
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