These days, there is not much that can really shock or surprise me. Political developments that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago happen on a regular basis. However, I was truly appalled to read a story in the New York Times on Sunday, August 23, by Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni (two of the best in the business) which reports that:
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the House Minority Leader, met privately in recent weeks with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and top outside adviser, and discussed potential areas of common ground, according to five people with knowledge of the meeting. The rare engagement was held in a private space in New York City, offered up by a mutual friend of the two men, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting and a third who was briefed on it. They and others were granted anonymity to discuss a meeting about which they were not authorized to speak publicly. Through aides, neither man would comment on the session, which was described by one person with knowledge of it as a broad conversation on a range of topics.
Kushner’s incentive to meet with Jeffries is self-evident. The consensus among most pollsters and political commentators is that the Democrats will capture a majority in the House of Representatives. Historical trends, the fact that president’s party almost always loses seats in the midterms, and Trump abysmal public opinion numbers almost guarantee a Democratic majority. So, from Kushner’s perspective, it makes a lot of sense for him to start negotiating the best deal that he can get from the man he assumes will be the new Democratic speaker.
What is the rationale for Jeffries to negotiate with Kushner? It is truly hard to fathom the logic on his part. Certainly, there is a time for talks with the Trump Administration. The time is clearly after the Democrats have won a majority in the House. You always want to be negotiating from a position of strength, not when you are trying to win an election.
Given President Trump’s record on negotiating to reach a compromise which is poor to non-existent, what faith does Jeffries have in any promises that Kushner might make?
It is interesting that the revelations of the Jeffries/Kushner talks come one week after Democratic leader publicly backed away from Medicare for All on NBC’s Meet the Press. Is this just a coincidence? Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but I would argue that it is part of a pattern. Jeffries to my mind is trying to stake out a position to the right of the progressive wing of his party by abandoning policy goals like Medicare for All.
One of the guiding principles of the late Democratic Speaker of the House, Thomas “Tip” O’Neill, was that “all politics is local.” Democratic Leader Jeffries should remember this adage. The Democrats who will join the next Congress in January of 2029 are likely to support a leader who is committed to fighting against the Trump Administration and delivering on things like Medicare for All which is widely supported by the American people. Right now, it looks like Jeffries will not meet this bill.
