Option 3. Elections are like court decisions: You argue the best you can to influence the result, but once the decision comes down you act accordingly. Both democracy and courts are a form of compromise, wherein we disagree on the end results but we all agree on the right procedure and the right rules.
Now 53 percent of Americans want Republicans driving the agenda, according to Gallup, versus just 36 who want Obama driving it. His approval rating is in the low 40s. Voters have just handed the GOP their biggest majorities since WWII. This is not the time for Democrats to my-way-or-the-highway it. (If that routine worked, the tea party would have triumphed. It did not.) The voters can and should have craptacular Republican policies if they want them. I predict more similar bills coming next year. So yes, the substance of the bill sucks, but this is how democracy works.
If I were a democratic congressman, why on earth should I vote for something that goes against everything that me (and my constituents) stand for just to get a shutdown resolved quickly? The GOP was able to win big this year partly because they did
not do this, but instead stood behind their positions and gave voters a clear agenda, while also showing their base that they stood behind them. If the democratic party grew a spine and put an end to these continuing giveaways to the GOP, maybe their base would have turned out for them in November.
I'm sorry, but if I'm going to be in the minority regardless, I'd much rather vote for what I believe in than be a pushover who gives my opposition everything they want.
Poll
