Everything feels worn thin. People aren’t hiding it anymore.
“Oh, F*ck Off!’ Democrats Rage at ‘Pathetic’ Shutdown ‘Betrayal’ in Mass Backlash… Democrats across the spectrum lashed out at leadership after the deal was announced, calling it a sellout and a pathetic betrayal of promises made to voters… one progressive lawmaker said the agreement ‘gives away everything for nothing’ and another blasted it as ‘the weakest negotiating stance I’ve ever seen’…”
“Gives away everything for nothing” is exactly what somebody says after they spent days trying to talk themselves into the deal and finally stopped lying to themselves. That’s not messaging. That’s someone who feels burned.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for? … Khanna added that Schumer’s failure to rally Democrats during the shutdown showed a lack of vision and strength, and that new leadership was needed to restore confidence in the Senate caucus…”
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5598207-rep-ro-khanna-calls-for-chuck-schumer-replacement/
The thing that matters in all of that is the bit about premiums skyrocketing. That’s a kitchen table problem. You don’t need to follow politics to know what it feels like when your healthcare bill jumps and you can’t do a thing about it. That’s where people check out.
“Though Congress appears to have a deal to end the government shutdown, a vote on that agreement is being held up by an unexpected issue: hemp… Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said he will not support speedy passage of a deal to reopen the government because of a provision that would make some THC products illegal… Paul argued that the language was slipped in without debate and could criminalize hemp farmers overnight, delaying the reopening of federal agencies until the dispute is resolved…”
One line slipped in, and whole farms get flipped from legal to illegal while people are just trying to pay their mortgages. That’s the kind of thing that makes people stop believing any of this is being run by adults.
“Americans’ trust in government has fallen to its lowest point in five decades, with only 19% saying they trust Washington to do what is right most of the time… Gallup noted that trust levels are sharply divided along party lines, with Republicans reporting just 9% trust compared to 34% among Democrats… the survey found that independents’ trust has collapsed to 17%, underscoring a broad erosion of confidence in institutions…”
https://news.gallup.com/poll/697421/trust-government-depends-upon-party-control.aspx
9% trust is basically nobody. That’s “I’ll handle it myself” territory. And once people get there, they don’t come back because someone gave a speech.
This isn’t loud collapse. It’s the quiet part where people stop believing the deal ever included them.