| | | | How Democrats lost the shutdown | | The history of government shutdowns -- and the polling on this shutdown in particular -- suggested that Democrats were poised to benefit politically from the shuttering of the federal bureaucracy.
And then, suddenly on Monday afternoon, Democrats gave in, with all but 16 of their 48 members voting to reopen the government with a three-week continuing resolution and a vague promise from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that they would get a fair hearing in their efforts to extend the DACA immigration program.
Why?
Good question! And one that many liberals within the party -- up to and including the half-dozen or so Democrats in the Senate planning runs for president in 2020 -- are asking in the wake of the Democrats' capitulation. (Read my winners and losers from the shutdown here.)
The answer -- I think -- is that red-state Democrats up for re-election in 2018 panicked. As I've noted many times in this space, there are 10 Democrats running for re-election this fall in states Trump won in 2016 -- including five in states where the President won by double digits.
For them, the shutdown was rapidly being painted as the Democratic Party taking their ball and going home because Republicans wouldn't agree to a deal for citizenship for undocumented immigrants. (I'm not saying this is what the reality of the debate reflected -- only what the perception was.)
In many of these Senate seats held by Democrats -- North Dakota, West Virginia, Indiana, Missouri -- that positioning was untenable. And so they put pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- who helped elect many of these same members as chairman of the Democratic Senate campaign arm -- to get the best deal he could, reopen the government and declare victory.
Which is what Schumer tried to do. But the facts of the deal -- a three-week CR with no guarantee of a clean DACA vote -- belie that claim of a Democratic win. As do comments made by Democrats from Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (Senate Democrats "are getting their butts kicked") and California Sen. Kamala Harris ("Listen, I'm disappointed with a conversation that suggests a false choice: You either fund the government or you take care of these DACA kids. We can do both.")
Could this be short-term pain for long-term gain? Sure. But remember that even if Schumer gets his promise out of McConnell for a DACA vote and even if it passes the Senate, the Republican-controlled House and White House await. And it's hard to see a Senate deal surviving those two gauntlets.
The Point: Schumer was losing support from his most vulnerable members. So, he cut bait. It's a reminder that for all of the talk about the anti-Trump sentiment among Democratic senators looking at running for president, being opposed to Trump at all times is not good politics for everyone in the Democratic caucus -- especially those 10 senators running in Trump country in November.
-- Chris | | SHUTDOWN: DISPATCH FROM THE HILL | | CNN's Daniella Diaz, who is on the Congress beat, sent us her observations from the Hill following the shutdown news.
Well, the federal government shutdown is over … for now. The last five days were my first on the Hill beat, and my first time covering a government shutdown. And while the government is back in business, we (meaning everyone covering Congress) may all be back in this minute-by-minute coverage after February 8, the deadline Senate Democrats negotiated for this continuing resolution.
On everyone's minds right now is how the DACA debate is going to play out between Democratic and Republican senators -- in this particular CR, Democrats didn't get any of the promises they wanted from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on DACA.
Plus right now on everyone's minds is the fact that President Donald Trump's State of the Union address is coming up -- and the dealmaker-in-chief was, notably, nowhere to be found in talks on the budget. And #2020 Democrats aren't happy with how the negotiations played out within their own party. Many, including Kamala Harris, told reporters they didn't support this CR and they want a permanent solution for undocumented immigrants in the DACA program. | | REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK: VEGAS #POWERTOTHEPOLLS | | | Photos: Saba Hamedy / CNN | | What happened in Las Vegas on Sunday won't stay in Las Vegas -- or, at least, that's what Women's March organizers are hoping after their first ever "#PowertothePolls" rally. This year, the main Women's March organizers -- who spent much of 2017 uniting as many people as they could for 2018 -- have a goal of turning the movement's momentum into political action. They hope to register 1 million voters in 2018, and they kick-started their efforts not with a march, but a rally in Nevada. Saba was there (read her story here). But here's a first-person of what it was like on the ground:
Las Vegas was a crisp 45 degrees (even cooler than DC temps!) this weekend, so I layered up for the rally, which was held at Sam Boyd Stadium. I got there early, but even as crowds arrived, the total amount of attendees was much smaller than I anticipated. Only about a third of the stadium was filled. Still, the energy was not lacking. Some of the attendees came as early as 5:30 a.m., so they could get front row bleacher spots overlooking the stage. The first two women I met were Paula Beaty, 53, of Durham, North Carolina, and her older sister Elizabeth Beaty, 59, who came dressed in matching suffragette outfits. "You should have seen the looks we got walking around the casino," Elizabeth joked. They marched on Washington last year with their two other sisters, and wanted to follow the Women's March to Nevada. As people started to trickle in, so did volunteers carrying bulletin boards. "Are you registered to vote?" they asked. One woman (top right photo) in a signature pink hat joked to the volunteer "longer than you've been alive." She quickly added: "But I appreciate what you're doing, keep at it!" After all, the whole point of the event was to get people fired up and ready to vote in 2018 midterms. There were also plenty of colorful signs. Some held anti-Trump ones, others focused on women's rights. Three-year-old Shayna's "woke" sign was getting a lot of attention (bottom left). Meanwhile, the sigh on bottom right seemed to encapsulate the spirit of the event best. | | 🚨 PA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT MAP RULING🚨 | | CNN's Eric Bradner reports: "The Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out the state's congressional map Monday, ruling that Republican-drawn districts 'clearly, plainly and palpably' violate the state's constitution and ordering that the map be redrawn in the next three weeks. The ruling could have a major impact on the race for control of the US House in 2018, where Democrats are targeting several Philadelphia-area House seats."
Read more in his full story here. | | Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was at the Sundance Film Festival this weekend (yes, really!), where, in a Q&A with Nina Totenberg, she weighed in on the #metoo movement and shared her own experiences with sexual harassment.
"I think it's about time," the 84-year-old Ginsburg said of the new emphasis. "For so long, women were silent. Every woman of my vintage knows what sexual harassment is, although we didn't have a name for it."
Read more in CNN's full story here. | | PENCE'S MIDDLE EAST TRIP CONTINUES ✈️ | | While addressing the Israeli parliament, Vice President Mike Pence announced the United States will open its embassy in Jerusalem "before the end of next year." As CNN previously reported, President Trump's announcement in December, during which he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, caused some backlash (and protests). Analysts previously told CNN that the move is roiling US allies because it bucks international norms and has the potential to destabilize the region, as both Israelis and Palestinians consider Jerusalem as their capital.
During his visit, Pence reiterated the city was "the capital of the state of Israel." | | | Thanks for reading. As always, please tell others to read and subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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