Do Democrats Have the Proper Leadership?
By 
I mean, LOL, obviously not. But this gets more yikes the more you know.
On Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee served tacos outside the Republican National Committee’s headquarters—a nod to a trendy new acronym spelling out “Trump always chickens out.” If the point was to push a slogan that works perfectly in one area (tariffs, where the president is constantly ramping up and backing down) and less perfectly in several others (immigration and general authoritarianism, where the president is running roughshod over the rule of law), then perhaps it was mildly successful. Still, the endeavor was most notable because of a comment from Vice President JD Vance: “We have,” he tweeted, “the lamest opposition in American history.” On this—and perhaps this alone—it’s hard to disagree with the vice president.
Handing free food to fascists outside their offices might be the high-water mark for the pugilism Beltway Democrats. Two days earlier, Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN to weigh in on the recent fascistic detention of an aide to Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler by ICE agents to make it clear that this aggression will not stand. “In terms of how we will respond to what Trump and the administration has endeavored to do, we will make that decision in a time, place, and manner of our choosing. But the response will be continuous, and it will meet the moment that is required,” he said.
Bash, understandably, was perplexed by the answer. “What exactly does that mean? Have you not decided how to respond?” Jeffries, having apparently not realized that he had not said anything of substance at all, stared blankly ahead for a few seconds—his signature move—before repeating the line he had clearly decided was a slam dunk: “We will respond in a time, place, and manner of our choosing if this continues to happen.” To which I say, what exactly does that mean?
His counterpart in the Senate only did slightly better—or perhaps slightly worse, depending on your perspective—on Monday. Responding to reports that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff were reportedly close to reaching a nuclear deal with Iran that was reportedly more or less identical to the landmark one forged by Barack Obama in 2015, Schumer returned to the TACO moniker. “If TACO Trump is already folding on Iran, the American people need to know about it. No side deals,” Schumer said.
“What kind of bull is this? They’re going to sound tough in public and then have a side deal that lets Iran get away with everything? That’s outrageous,” he added. “We need to make that side deal public. Any side deal should be before Congress and, most importantly, the American people.” Schumer’s rhetoric was more or less identical to the way Republicans attacked the Iran deal wrought by President Barack Obama.
Here you have it: The Democrats! One says he has a response but can’t say what it is or when he’ll use it, and the other one is pushing a 10-year-old Republican talking point. America has never needed an effective opposition party as badly as it needs one now; instead we have the most feckless Democratic leaders of the past 100 years.
Chuck, Hakeem, you’re the reason for my life, you’re the inspiration!