Meh. He’ll use it as another distraction every month or whatever frequency he wants. Just like the Republicans would only approve stopgap budgets, so they can turn up the drama and claim some negotiating victories every time to just keep the lights on. It’s all theater.

What the fuck do you expect them to do with a minority at every level? All they can do is try to get the message out.

Trump has repeatedly made empty campaign promises, yet voters take the bait every fucking time.

Pointing this out in real time is an important step.

It’s easy to rage against the machine on a moral pedestal. It’s harder to actually steer the machine in the right direction.

To be clear, I am supportive of putting things to a vote even if there’s no chance it succeeds. Get the votes on record. I think that’s an important archive that can be used later in election season to hold politicians accountable for their votes.

I like what Bernie and AOC are doing when they push for these kinds of votes.

But make no mistake. They can only do this from a position of being unable to effect any change. Under normal conditions, moves like this poison the well and make others on both sides less willing to work with you.

They have the luxury of grandstanding specifically because they have zero hope of garnering support.

Someone like a president can’t really do something like this without completely burning their political capital.