Beware the Ides of March, Democrats

10 Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer exemplified the cowardice and fecklessness of Democratic leadership that is unable to fight fascism and remains complicit in its normalization.

March 15th is known as the Ides of March when members of the Roman Senate conspired to assassinate Julius Caesar thereby ending the Roman republic. Because I’m not a violent insurrectionist or a MAGA cult member, I don’t advocate literal violence against elected officials I oppose. However, this date is truly symbolic and worth mentioning in the light of the news that 9 Democratic Senators joined Chuck Schumer to give Republicans the vote to advance their spending bill and avoid a government shutdown.

Donald Trump has already praised Schumer on social media, which reveals that these 10 Democrats just handed Republicans a major victory by giving up all of their leverage to demand concessions. House Democrats, including Hakeem Jeffries, held the line and vulnerable Democratic Senators, such as Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, refused to vote for this bill. Unfortunately, Schumer and 9 other Democrats decided to be feckless cowards because they were incapable or unwilling to fight or message accordingly.

As I wrote yesterday, with Democrats like these, who needs Republicans? It’s time for new leadership and a makeover. The Democratic establishment is overwhelmingly old, wealthy, white, and plays by antiquated rules and customs that privilege those with seniority and big, corporate donors. They have proven incapable of rising to this moment and are not built for this fight against fascism. The Party leadership is not just useless, but worse, it is complicit with the Trump Administration’s full-scale assault on our democracy. The rot starts from the top. Recall that President Biden greeted Trump, a criminal and violent insurrection, with a “welcome home” during his inauguration. 10 Democrats sided with Republicans to censure 77-year-old Rep. Green who admonished Trump for gutting Social Security and Medicaid. 46 Democrats helped pass the Laken Riley Act. Senator Schumer needed 7 votes to help Republicans pass the spending bill, so Democrats gave him 9!

Senator Bennett was right when he allegedly accused Democratic leadership of having “no strategy, no plan, and no message on this spending bill.” Schumer, the somnambulist septuagenarian, did a complete 180 after telling the country that Dems were united. Meanwhile, Governor Walz is apologizing to Democrats for not doing enough to fight Donald Trump. He admitted the Harris Administration and their overpaid, useless strategists muzzled him during the campaign, even though he was selected due to his effective attacks on Trump’s weirdness. This was the same campaign that jettisoned the populist agenda and decided to court centrists and Republicans, such as Liz Cheney, at the expense of progressives and Palestinians.

How has that worked out?

The timing of this shameful vote coincides with Trump giving one of his most dangerous, unhinged speeches at the Department of Justice where he alleged the DOJ was corrupt for prosecuting him and he, again, repeated Russian propaganda. "These newspapers are really no different than a highly paid political operative. And it has to stop. It has to be illegal ... it just cannot be legal,” Trump added, echoing authoritarians of the past. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche also announced the Justice Department will examine if student protests at Columbia University violated federal terrorism laws. We’re in the midst of a full-blown attack on our freedoms and democracy and instead of showing resistance, these 10 Senate Democrats rolled over and played possum.

If the Democratic Party Leadership refuses to fight, then it must be removed. Force them to retire to their multi-million dollar homes or strap them to a SpaceX rocket aimed for the sun. Thankfully, other Democrats agree. When asked if it’s time for new leadership, Senator Warnock replied, “I think, come ‘26 and ‘28, we’ll get some new leadership.” Yesterday, CNN reported House Democrats were encouraging Rep. AOC to primary Schumer. The time has come to clean house. Republicans did this with the Tea Party, which later devolved into MAGA. Yes, they represent a dangerous, authoritarian movement, but the point remains the activists dislodged ossified carcasses that they believed weren’t fulfilling a conservative (extremist) agenda.

Elected office is not a birthright. Politicians aren’t “owed” anything. They have to earn it. They have to be reminded they are servants and stewards of the people. They are replaceable tools that we, the people, use to help achieve our goals for a more just, equitable, and fair society. If they are unwilling and unable to use their privileged positions to fight for the people, then the people have every right to demand they go kick rocks instead.

The Ides of March is upon us.

Tick tock.

*Danielle and I discuss the useless Dem leadership in today’s episode of Democracy-Ish. Give us a watch.