I think you may know that I admire greatly the TV work of Fareed Zakaria who is on CNN just about every Sunday morning and some other times. I don’t agree with him all the time, but I’d say I agree 90% or more. This past Sunday morning was different. I disagreed strongly with his opening. Later it got a bit better and he said some valuable things. I still admire him and hope to see him many more times. I wish to discuss both the agreement and the dissent.

He began by saying that the recent deal by Democrats was a disaster for the party. The Dems, he said, came off as weak and incapable of much of anything. He saw no advantage in the shut-down ending vote in the Senate where 8 members of the Democratic caucus(7 Dem Senators and Sen Angus King, a ME Independent who caucuses with the Dems)voted with the GOP to open things up and temporarily get the government running again. I agreed. This means thousands of federal employees return to work, recipients of SNAP being able to get food for themselves and their families, and overall things at least beginning to return to normal, whatever that may be today. This return, I comprehend, could be a temporary one.

Fareed and others(Sen Murray of CT a few minutes earlier on CNN, for example)saw nothing in this action but surrender, a political disaster for Dems. They also saw no meaningful help for the country. I dissent on both issues

First of all, I think it was right for the country.. We were looking at more and ,more reduction in travel as the holidays approach, a disruption of our economy because of the chaos and lack of travel that would result, and, most immediately terrible, the loss of food benefits for millions of Americans, many of them children, because of the disruptions of SNAP benefits(food stamps). Now I agree that one cannot afford to make such compromises indefinitely. In fact, I think that this is the only one of this kind the Dems should make. But look at what they were facing. The Republicans were getting ready to lay all blame on the Dems for the above potential troubles, and while I think they would have had a hard time making all of it stick they might have come close.

In return for an extension of the current funding for about a month and a half. the Dems get a restoration of SNAP benefits and a restoration of travel for the holidays. After that the whole issue will rise again, to be sure. And it will be difficult again. But is it not reasonable, at least this time, to note that when a person’s children are hungry they are likely to say and/or think “We need the food now-I don’t care now about when this thing runs out. My kinds are very hungry today.” I don’t think this is an unreasonable point or a bad idea. Of course you will not want to do it over and over again, but this time, particularly at this time of year, I think it’s reasonable.

I also think it may be right for the party too. This is a lesser issue, but not one without importance and it is reasonable to talk about it. I think that if the rebel Dems had not done as they did, as I noted above, they would have risked some effective demagoging from the GOP. Now, I think The Republicans could find themelves in a difficult political position.

When the continuing resolution money is about to run out and all this has to be redone, there is supposed to be a vote on extending the Democratic created government assistance in paying Obamacare premiums. The GOP promised it. They did not say how they would vote, but they are on record as agreeing to have such a vote.

Should the Dems get enough Republican support to keep the subsides going, well, good. This profits the whole country, particularly the poorer portion of it. It also gives the Dems a victory. Of course, it is possible that nearly all Republicans will combine to break their promise or will oppose these subsides successfully and will prevent their being extended–. If so, I think, the Republicans will be 1) displaying their meaner side to the American voter–good! and 2) thereby handing the Dems a club with which to beat them during the next months–I think this could prove to be a valuable weapon indeed. I hope they don’t need it, but if they do, they should have it and use it.

No, there is no guarantee that any of this will happen as I have hypothesized. But it seems enough to go on for now, particularly with the sttae the country has been in and appeared to be heading for. It is worth a try.

I will try to say more soon about Fareed’s more reasonable criticisms of the Democrats. I also want to mention his remarkable two-part exchange will Bill Maher, which a lot of you may have seen on two different television shows.