Photograph Source: Daniel Torok – Public Domain

Members of the Democratic Party are arguing over who was responsible for their failed attempt to use the government shutdown to pressure the Republicans into renewing the enhanced tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Their message was that without that extension, more than 2 million people will lose health insurance coverage next year, according to projections by the Congressional Budget Office.

Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, gleefully poked at them, saying, “We told you 43 days ago that government shutdowns don’t work, you haven’t achieved your objective yet, and you’re not going to.” And he seems to be right, given that House Speaker Mike Johnson said he will not commit to bringing a vote to extend the credits up in the House.

Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries promises that Democrats will not give up on the subsidy extension even if the Senate votes against it. He pledges, “This fight is not over, we’re just getting started.” Seriously? A pledge without a plan is simply a sincere wish.

Democrats spend time playing the Blame Game, not taking action.

Democratic Party leadership focused on a strategy of forcing the Republicans to feel the public’s anger at the government shutdown. Simon Rosenberg of Hopium Chronicles on Substack shared polling from Navigator Research, which reveals that Trump’s overall approval rating dropped 8% since the shutdown began, a bigger drop than when he announced his wave of tariffs on his self-declared “Liberation Day” following his inauguration.

The Democrats’ message that Trump and the Republicans were to blame for the harmful impact of the shutdown on people’s daily lives had worked. However, it still did not persuade the Republicans to accept their proposal that ACA credits be extended for only a year.

Seven Democratic Senators recognized that anger against the Republicans might have peaked, and it was best to secure a partial victory now through a deal to reopen the government. Members of the Progressive Caucus called for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign, and others accused the Democrats of surrendering or capitulating to Republican pressure. Sen. Bernie Sanders dismissed the promise to have the Senate vote on extending the ACA credits as a “meaningless gesture.”

Activists were more direct, Leah Greenberg, a cofounder of the group Indivisible, called it a “senseless surrender.” Shannon Watts, a co-founder of the anti-gun violence group Moms Demand Action, blamed Schumer for failing to organize the democrats to realize what the options were.

Watts recognizes that action was needed to prevent people from suffering due to the shutdown. However, the Senate’s resolution was internally divisive because it lacked a second step beyond making speeches.

Mehdi Hasan, a Guardian US columnist, hits on that point by noting that Democrats are polling at their lowest point for more than three decades, and that 62% of Democratic voters say “the leadership of the Democratic party should be replaced with new people.” Hasan points to those leaders as the “uninspiring” Jeffries and Schumer.

They seem to be worse than uninspiring. Hasan argued that they are spineless leaders who cannot organize effectively. Their idea of action is to send strongly worded letters.” Jeffries sent one to protest the deployment of troops to the streets of Washington, DC, while Schumer sent “a very strong letter just the other day” to Donald Trump to stop his attacks on US universities.

Unfortunately, even progressive commentators don’t understand the need for an action agenda now. One suggested to “use these next few months to refocus the national discourse on the harm their agenda is doing to the country.” That has already been the focus, and it did hurt Trump and the Republicans. However, that is a strategy without considering the tactics necessary to achieve that objective.

Democrats can execute a plan now to save the ACA credits.

Democrats are not concentrating on the narrow window to protect the ACA credits or, if they fail, making its failure the main topic in the national media before the year’s end. They are not doing that. Instead, progressives are taking valuable time to organize and oust moderate Democrats who might compromise with Republicans. Nor will it happen if the established leadership continues to frame the ACA credits as a battle without taking some decisive actions now.

Both progressive and moderate Democrats are wasting the two weeks, beginning today, that are available to pass legislation in the Senate and force the House Republicans to vote or kill the ACA credits.

The Democrats need a national campaign to draw the country’s attention to save the ACA credits by declaring that the Senate must vote by Monday, December 8.

Why that date? Because that is, realistically, the last date to vote a bill out of Congress to keep the ACA credits. Politicians and commentators are overlooking how the manipulation of Congress’s work schedule determines if there will be a vote this year. Schumer should have pushed one simple tactical adjustment for Democrats negotiating a deal: demand a certain date for the vote.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would not hold a Senate discussion or vote until the shutdown ended. However, he agreed to a vote to extend the ACA credits by the second week of December. That may seem reasonable until you realize that the Democrats must insist on a vote no later than Monday, December 8, which is the first day of the second week.

Putting aside the fact that the Senate may not vote to pass the legislation, Democrats must schedule a Senate vote that allows enough time on the House’s scheduled to vote. There are only six or four days available for the Senate to pass a bill and for the House to vote on the bill before December 19, when its session ends for the year.

If the Senate passes a bill on the 8th, the House will only have two days before they are scheduled to break again from the 11th to the 14th. When they return on the 15th, they are scheduled to be in session only until the evening of Thursday, December 18th. In summary, the House has only 6 days to vote on a Senate bill if it is passed on the 8th. If the Senate doesn’t pass it until the 12th, the House will only have 4 days.

A national campaign to demand a December 8 vote serves two purposes.

First, it allows the Democrats to start a national campaign to have a vote by December 8. It requires energizing and supporting grassroots efforts in every state where a Republican Senator has a substantial number of constituents who would see their health insurance payments dramatically increase.

Effective organizing requires a clear and immediate goal. Every day before the 8th can be used to run local news advertisements, host community gatherings, and engage on social media to encourage emails urging their Senators to vote on the 8th.

Second, December 8th is the best choice to provide a chance for ACA credits to be applied before the open enrollment period closes this year on December 15, allowing coverage to begin on January 1, 2026. One can still enroll up to January 15, but coverage will not start until February 1, 2026. That could leave a month’s gap for many who delay renewing their coverage, hoping that Congress will pass an extension. Johnson may promise to vote in January, with the intention of cutting enrollment even if a bill passes or killing the extended credits entirely.

The anger and frustration that result from Johnson’s game plan can be directly attributed to the Republicans’ failure to extend the credits, leading to a delay or an increase in healthcare costs due to the cancellation of credits. This will be remembered in the fall Congressional elections.

The bottom line:

The Democratic Party must unite around an actionable and swift game plan that highlights the intransigence of the Republican Party’s callous treatment of federal health care recipients. There must be coordination between Senate and House leadership, between the party and non-governmental institutions, and between progressives and moderates to act now, not just prepare for a future fight to protect our national health plan –that fight is happening now. Party leaders are needed now to organize and energize the public to win this fight.

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