Senate Democrats' New Plan

photo courtesy of the National Constitution Center

Democrats suffered tough losses all over the country on Election Day and now that they have come to terms with their lack of control in the White House and both houses of Congress, they are looking ahead to the next session of Congress and what they can do to unify their party, Congress and the American people. In Jennifer Steinhauer's article for the New York Times, she elaborates on the strategy Senate Democrats in particular will be using come January- try to align with Trump. Steinhauer elaborates on the issues that both Senate Democrats and President-elect Trump feel similarly about- like "spending more on roads, bridges and rail, punishing American companies that move jobs overseas, ending a lucrative tax break for hedge fund and private equity titans, and making paid maternity leave mandatory."

This is an interesting stance for Senate Democrats to be taking, and I am very intrigued to see how it will play out. On one hand, it's hard for some people to see Democrats attempting to align with Trump after eviscerating him on television, in print and in interviews for his views on a variety of subjects. On the other hand, it's interesting to see Democrats taking more of a high road about this and showing that they are trying the best they can to be supportive of the President-elect. It also puts Senate Republicans in somewhat of a hard spot, because if/when legislation concerning the issues Senate Democrats and President-elect Trump support and historically Senate Republicans have opposed, they will be forced to decide if they want to unify behind the president (the highest ranking member of their party) and in turn, Democrats, or if they want to oppose Democrats on principle and be at odds not only with them, but the president as well and be seen as partisan while Democrats are seen as non-partisan and come off looking more cooperative. It's an interesting and very calculated move by Senate Democrats. Let's just see if it pays off for them.