On November 9, seven Senate Democrats and one Democrat-aligned Independent shocked the party by caving to Republicans. They supported a funding package that would reopen the government without any gains on extending healthcare subsidies. Earlier that same week, Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election on a massively popular cost of living campaign.

The Democratic establishment is so disoriented, they don’t seem to know their left and right.

Among other provisions, the deal will continue to fully fund the government through January. In “return,” the Republicans “conceded” to reverse the reduction-in-force layoffs that Trump implemented in October. They also agreed to guarantee backpay for federal workers. Neither of these was in question when the shutdown began. The GOP offered no clear or sure concessions on addressing healthcare costs.

The House is voting on the measure today, and it then goes to Trump’s desk.

Several Democratic heavyweights defected. These include Minority Whip Dick Durbin and former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine. These represent the centrist party establishment, aligned with the likes of Hillary Clinton.

They’ve come under heavy fire from other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and California Governor Gavin Newsom. After all, the liberals have the leverage. A late October NBC News survey found that 52% of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown, with only 42% blaming Democrats. An Economist/YouGov survey found that, across the political spectrum, Trump’s approval rating has fallen over his handling of the shutdown.

As it turns out, Trump didn’t need leverage. He just needed to wait out his opponents’ divisions.

But as much as it exposed spineless politicians, the shutdown revealed the masses haven’t let their felt needs go unheard. Democrats chose to make healthcare their main issue. A year after Biden told us the economy was in great shape, his party’s had to acknowledge that Americans’ wallets are hurting.

Just days before the Senate vote, center-left Democratic candidates won governorships in New Jersey and Virginia. They ran on affordability platforms, including issues like rising energy costs. Mamdani won in New York by focusing on three promises: freeze the rent for stabilized tenants, provide fast and free buses, and universal childcare. Hakeem Jeffries endorsed him, and Barack Obama called him twice. Compare this to Kamala Harris’s presidential bid, which only offered to “defend democracy.”

Class contradictions are intensifying in the United States, forcing a reckoning among the Democrats. It’s no secret that Biden and Harris lost the election due to complicity with the genocide in Palestine and the fact that they were tone deaf to the deteriorating economic condition of the multinational working class.

Due to this larger polarization, the Democrats are more and more splintered. On the one hand, a centrist wing is deluded about the importance of compromise and the sanctity of American institutions. On the other, both progressives and moderates have taken up cost-of-living issues. They see that they face popular demands everywhere, from more active labor unions to mass movements of youth. These are inevitable under capitalism. The party’s feet have been put to the fire. No matter how you slice the pie, the more the Democratic Party promises it can protect the system, the more it will fall short of meeting people’s needs. Regardless of how negotiations round off in Congress, a people’s agenda is on the table, and in the streets.

#Opinion #Commentary #PeoplesStruggles #Democrats #Trump

In a message sent out through the event link, Phillip Jerez stated that the office opening had been “postponed” but did not offer a reason, nor a new date for the opening.

This event cancellation came in the wake of the Biden/Trump debate and consistent protests of Biden campaign events.

“We will not allow business as usual! Show out to the grand opening to protest the Biden administration's aiding of genocide and demand the end of U.S. aid to Israel” said the groups via an Instagram post publicizing the call to action. “If and when this event is rescheduled, we will mobilize in opposition.”

#OrlandoFL #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Democrats #FRSO

Minneapolis, MN – On Friday, April 15, the Free Palestine Coalition led a protest of around 100 people outside of Education Minnesota’s Representative Convention. Education Minnesota (EDMN) is a large state-level educators union that announced only the day before that they would be delaying their entire program to host the opening event of First Lady Dr .Jill Biden’s “Educators for Biden-Harris” national tour.

Protesters outside the convention drew attention to the issues of recent attacks on academic freedom, with speakers like Dr Sima Shaksari from Educators for Justice in Palestine – UMN, Michael Runyon from Students for Palestine Normandale, and delegates Amelia Marquez and Meredith Aby. Marquez and Aby were refused entry to the first lady’s speech, presumably because of their political activism in support of Palestine.

Amelia Marquez, a rank-and-file member of MFT Local 59, told the crowd, “As an indigenous person you are there to represent me. All tomorrow when you try to do your land acknowledgement, I want you to remember that instead of standing with your indigenous educator you decided to send her out here in the cold after a long day of teaching our next generation.” The crowd responded with “shame!” Marquez continued, “All day I asked my classes what I should tell Jill Biden tonight and all of my students said tell her ‘Free Palestine!’”

The presidents of the American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, and EDMN campaigned for President Biden and introduced the first lady, who was then immediately interrupted by coalition members chanting “Money for schools, not for war!” After they were escorted out, many other conference delegates walked out in disgust as the first lady began to campaign for her husband.

The next day, EDMN Representative Convention delegates in the Palestine solidarity movement worked hard to introduce two resolutions: a ceasefire resolution and a resolution to divest educator pensions from apartheid Israel. The debate on the floor was contentious, but the convention passed a watered-down ceasefire resolution echoing the resolutions passed by AFT, NEA,and AFL-CIO. The divestment resolution was ultimately referred to committee after a vibrant debate. Throughout the day delegates from all over Minnesota discussed the topic of their public educator pensions being invested in weapons companies and the genocide in Gaza.

The Free Palestine Coalition continues organizing for Minnesota to divest from apartheid Israel as well as calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza, an end to U.S. aid to apartheid Israel, no U.S. war with Iran, and a free Palestine.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCitiesMN #MN #AntiWarMovement #International #MiddleEast #Palestine #MNFreePalestineCoalition #MFT #JillBiden #Democrats #Feature