Democratic leaders Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi missed an opportunity in their Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump .
The leaders came ready to make the president own the potential government shutdown, and Trump was only too happy to oblige, saying he would proudly claim responsibility for closing the government in order to build his border wall. The exchange was like so many political skirmishes these days: a bloody split decision in which both sides claim victory. But Democrats in Congress can play a smarter and longer game with Trump by fighting him in less predictable ways.
Pelosi and Schumer came to the White House locked into the narrow mindset of the latest legislative standoff. Their goal was to offer Trump some money for his border wall (all-but-knowing it would not be enough for him) and then make him look petulant for demanding a government shutdown instead of accepting their compromise. In other words, they tried to win the news cycle.
Democrats need to not only knock Trump off his game by winning the news cycle his supporters see but also to surprise him and the American people with a more future-oriented agenda.
What if Pelosi, of California, and Schumer, of New York, had presented the president yesterday with an agenda "for the people" (that was their midterms slogan) that included much of what they just campaigned on: lowering health care costs, increasing infrastructure investment, building tougher government-corruption laws and strengthening voting rights protections?
Battles over leadership and government-shutdown brinkmanship sap political enthusiasm. Democrats should get back to talking about and doing the things that people left Trump for and want from them.
Commentary on 12/13/2018