FROMA HARROP

Chuck Schumer is right, and James Carville is right. They don’t want the Democratic Party getting pulled into MAGA’s cyclone of ruinous policy. To get to safety, they are reining in the left flank for whom the fight is all. The hotheads don’t recognize that bad timing loses battles.

Senate Minority Leader Schumer took a good deal of incoming after he pushed his caucus to help pass the Republicans’ continuing resolution, thus not causing a government shutdown. The ensuing chaos would have rattled Americans more than Donald Trump and Elon Musk have already done. Do Democrats want to be seen compounding anxieties?

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman understood the game when he rightly noted that shutting down the government would be “a gift for the Republicans.” House Speaker Mike Johnson seemed to be egging Democrats on to do just that, undoubtedly, to fend off the anger of scared consumers, investors, retirees and anyone dependent on Medicare or Medicaid.

As Napoleon famously said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

Democrats have been scoring impressive wins of late at the state level. The biggest surprise was Mike Zimmer in Iowa, who flipped a Republican seat in a rural district that Trump won by 21 points. Contrary to the left’s propaganda, the successful Democrats are usually moderates.

The thing is, Republicans hold the presidency and both houses of Congress. Democrats lack the power to stop the dismantling of the America the public has known — even if they wanted to. The road to getting power is taking over at least one house of Congress in the midterms. It’s winning elections.

Democrats now have a grand opportunity to let the public see what it stands to lose under the MAGA bulldozer. Republicans are messing up the economy faster than even their opposition could have imagined. Why would Democrats want to move news cameras away from the GOP reps scared to hold town halls? Which brings up one smart thing Democrats can do and are doing: hold their own town halls in congressional districts represented by Republicans.

A government shutdown would have diverted attention away from all that. Unfortunately for Democrats, attention is what the activists most want.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez clearly sought to be the face of a government shutdown. She had previously called for defunding the police, defended prostitutes propositioning boys on the way to school and railed against the executive order banning transgender kids born male from competing in girls’ sports. About 80% of Americans agree, as should anyone who cares about fairness in girls’ sports.

AOC not getting her star turn before the cameras must have been a grave disappointment to Fox News. Chuck Schumer may not be the most charismatic figure to represent the party, but at least he’s not a disastrous choice to address ordinary Americans.

Democratic strategist Carville also drew fire for advising Democrats to lay low for the time being. Southernizing Napoleon’s counsel, he advised Democrats to “play possum,” that is, go limp instead of fighting every Republican provocation.

The midterms are less than two years away. Democrats should assemble a meat-and-potatoes message for a pre-election onslaught. They don’t have to promise cheap eggs or free neck lifts. They just need to make clear that they’re not the ones sending food prices higher and stock values lower.

And importantly, Democrats are the only hope for restoring America’s sinking reputation as defender of Western democracy. Turning Canada into an enemy is plain insanity.

Republicans would just love to draw Democrats into their mayhem. Again, Democrats should not rise to the bait. They should take a cue from Pogo and play dead until they are ready to swing into action.

Froma Harrop can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com.