First: I don't understand why Democrats aren't screaming about Grijalva nonstop, wanting America to know how many days have passed since she was elected and why this is happening to her. They do it in much the same way as they do many other things. Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego once stood up to Johnson and said, “Stop covering up for pedophiles.” Johnson said, “This is funny.” But different Democrats must force Johnson to say it every day.
Second, I suspect that perhaps the Democrats will concede next week. They're hoping that outrage over the lack of food stamps and especially skyrocketing health care subsidies will force Republicans to take action, and they may be right. But it's more likely that once real people start really suffering, it will be the Democrats who will demand peace, because Democrats don't really care, while Republicans don't care, because not caring less is their brand (unless those suffering include, say, fossil fuel executives).
So maybe the Democrats will do it. But I think even if they do, and Politico's superficial “win the day” verdicts agree that the GOP won, Democrats can still win in the future. They fought to reduce health care subsidies. They fought for the federal workforce. They fought for hungry families. They fought for the 812 thousand residents of Arizona's 7th District. Okay, they lost, in the short term. But they fought.
