Schümerdämmerung

Donald Trump is becoming unpopular, but Democrats are more unpopular than they’ve ever been, reflecting not just Republican voter partisanship, but the fact that tens of millions of Democratic voters are fed up with their party’s conduct in the aftermath of the election. With partisan anger boiling over, calls for Chuck Schumer to resign from leadership, and constitutional crises on our doorstep, Matt and Brian discuss:

• How did Democrats in Congress bungle the politics of funding the government so badly?

• Will they have another bite at the apple when it’s time to raise the debt limit, or has the ship full of apples sailed?

• Given mediocre Democratic congressional performance in 2024, and little prospect of winning the Senate in 2026 (absent a generational Trump-induced crisis) what’s the argument for Schumer to keep his job?

Then, behind the paywall, a lot of yelling. Are Democrats playing too much protect-defense under dire circumstances? Should leaders like Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries be focused entirely on 2026 election politics, or are the moral stakes of Donald Trump’s authoritarian takeover threat severe enough to adopt a less cautious, feistier, more procedurally aggressive posture? Is the Politix synthesis of Yglesias-style policy moderation and Beutler-style procedural hardball the sweet spot for the party in the Trump era?

All that, plus the full Politix archive are available to paid subscribers—just upgrade your subscription and pipe full episodes directly to your favorite podcast app via your own private feed.

Further reading:

• Matt’s sigh of relief that Schumer prevented the shutdown.

• Brian argues that if Democrats aren’t going to pick big fights that might move public opinion, and leave everything to the courts, they should probably lay some political groundwork for whenever Trump decides he can ignore court rulings.

• Donate to Susan Crawford.

• Join the Tesla Takedown movement.

• Proposition: “We're gonna get a lot of primary challengers with the issue positions of 2013 Barack Obama and a burning, unhinged desire to put Republicans in jail.” Would this be good or bad, and would it win or lose?