Democrats could message on the shutdown better. It should be easy. It is a good start so far, but they need and can do more. They are right to make health care costs the issue for now and 2026, sticking the GOP with the blame, and that is the reason they are being so determined.. Their challenge is not only to pin the blame on the GOP, Democrats must do more and tell what they would do if they won control of Congress a year from now. That's an easy one for voters to grasp: The GOP not only caused the pain, but Democrats would restore the cuts to health care subsidies and reverse the tax cuts to the wealthy to pay for it. That makes the link more obvious between health care costs and the GOP's favors they give to the rich.
The cost of health care insurance and the availability of health care services are the most powerful messages because they affect both red and blue states and a very large number of really angry voters who are going to be hurt badly. That will also be part of the message that Trump's promises to make the cost of living have not only failed, but he is making it more expensive to keep up with essential daily needs. Fundamentally, the Trump regime and its patsies in Congress do not care about everyday Americans' struggles. Congressional Democrats have done a good job in making that argument, but now it should be made clear how they would fix this. They should not assume the public gets the point. Voters have options. They may just stay home and tune out, with a "plague on both of your houses" attitude.
The timing is right since the actual pain of health care funding cuts will begin starting now. Pinning the blame for what happens soon on the GOP is in progress. So far, it has just been warnings, and until voters actually feel the pain, it is not fully effective. That is about to change. Trump's cuts to subsidies for the ACA (causing costs to soar for those millions who depend on it) begin now, and rural hospitals will shutter and close because they are projecting the impact of the next 12 months. Medicare impacts will be felt and hurt after December.
Added to that pain of higher health care costs are grocery prices and tariff-struck consumer goods.. Food banks will feel the strain as groceries become more expensive due to Trump's policies that cause costs to soar at the same time SNAP is being cut. Dramatizing that point should be as easy as presenting stories of real people who are being hurt. That strategy should be ongoing all the way to the November 2026 midterms. "This is how people like you are being hurt now" will be a PR gift that keeps on giving for Democrats.
A possibility is to tie the arrogance of power-grabbing Trump to make decisions on his own or on behalf of his powerful supporting friends that ignore the will of the people as expressed through their Congressional representatives. This is no longer a government of, by, and for the people, but of, by, and for Trump. It is no longer a democracy. No Kings demonstrations can further educate the voters that Trump's power grab will hurt them by subverting, ending, and defunding programs that help ordinary people.
It has now become obvious that the strategy of the Trump regime is to cherry-pick which laws they will execute that Congress has already funded to extend their hold on power. The Trump regime's strategy is not about "faithfully executing " laws that are passed and services that were funded, but it is about how power is being abused and used to punish the opposition by subverting the execution and withholding appropriated funding. Lies and red herrings like "illegal migrants get health care" are getting shot down in real time by Democrats. That's not only lies, but it's the GOP's attempt to tie health care to appeal to the racist elements of an immigrant-hating base. Not only is it likely that withholding execution of laws and funding already authorized by Congress is unconstitutional. particularly if it is done for unrelated political gain, it is also clear: Trump doesn't care about that nicety of following the Constitution or the laws of the land either. There is case law on this issue, but precedent does not seem binding to this Supreme Court. His strategy to get and keep power is to grab as much power as he can get away with. These power grabs may ultimately be approved by "his" 6-3 Supreme Court, which has been ruling in favor of giving Trump more and more unrestrained power.
Focusing on the hardships to federal workers who lose their jobs by Trump's design or who have to struggle until 1) the shutdown in over and 2) the chainsaw approach gets challenged in t he courts is OK, but that message is not very effective. The welfare of federal workers is not a dedicated cause for most voters. It will, however, affect those states with many laid-off or fired federal workers, who are having close gubernatorial and Congressional races in some red and blue swing states. Those swing states right now are polling poorly already for Trump:
Be aware, too, that Trump is not deaf to these vulnerabilities, and already he is talking about compensating the tariff hit on consumers with a $2K check to every voter. He is aware that his tariffs did hurt American farmers and wants to bail them out with billions of dollars. Where the heck is he going to get the funds? It is possible in a November scheduled ruling, "his" Supreme Court could grow cajónes and declare Trump's cross-the-board tariffs unconstitutional, requiring as much as $1 trillion to be refunded, except for those related to defense and national security. His puppy dog GOP Congress may just throw care about the debt and deficit under the bus to compensate for his major goofs, which, in so doing, compensate for his bad judgment and lies to MAGA, taking them for fools. There is no better admission that he was lying or an ignorant moron than having to fix the trouble to consumers and farmers his tariffs have caused, and he so vehemently claimed would not happen.
US could be forced to refund $1 trillion if Supreme Court overturns Trump's tariffs
Trump mulling $2,000 ‘dividend’ for Americans to share money made from tariffs
Trump making plans to send billions in cash bailouts to farmers with taxpayer money - POLITICO
Devastating poll shows Trump 'underwater' in all 7 swing states he won
SOUTH DAKOTA v. DOLE, 483 U.S. 203 (1987) | FindLaw
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