DL Open Thread: Friday, December 12, 2025

Circle yesterday on your calendar.  I think it might mark a bounce off the bottom.  I also think it might be a turning point.

Not because of anything that Democrats did, but because Rethugs have (a) finally realized that they are an endangered species en masse; and (b) some have simply had enough of Trump’s bullying.

Indiana R State Senators To The Rescue.  They’ve been bullied, threatened and doxxed by Trump and his enablers.  They didn’t fold:

The Indiana Senate rejected mid-decade redistricting today, capping off a bitter state fight for control of Congress that has divided the GOP, spurred violent threats and dramatically changed the political landscape ahead of the midterm elections.

The failure will likely be seen by President Donald Trump and his allies as a rebuke of his vision for cementing a congressional majority at all costs. Several groups have promised to spend top dollar on unseating those who oppose redistricting, setting the stage for a messy primary if the Senate did not pass the bill.

If it had succeeded, Indiana would have joined a handful of other states with maps that were changed mid-decade for political goals, likely eliminating Indiana’s two Democratic congressional seats and fracturing Indianapolis in the process.

“We finally have a resolution,” Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, who said all along his caucus doesn’t have the votes to support redistricting, told reporters after the Senate voted it down decisively.

He denied accusations that he was actively trying to “kill” the redistricting bill behind the scenes, as Vice President JD Vance said in a post on X.

“Typically my style is to let people vote like they want,” he said. “They could come with a yes or come with a no. It’s exactly what I did this time.”

Gov. Mike Braun criticized a “small group of misguided” senators in a statement, after a majority of senators — and a majority of Republican senators — voted down the redistricting bill.

“I am very disappointed that a small group of misguided State Senators have partnered with Democrats to reject this opportunity to protect Hoosiers with fair maps and to reject the leadership of President Trump,” he said. “Ultimately, decisions like this carry political consequences. I will be working with the President to challenge these people who do not represent the best interests of Hoosiers.”

Uh, Mike?  The senators made clear that they no longer fear the Alzheimer’s-addled drool bib who is currently the President.  He won’t be any sharper if/when he journeys to Indiana to exact retribution.  Hoosier senators saw the ‘Great and Powerful Oz’, and disregarded him.  I think this is a watershed moment, and we’ll be seeing lots more of these going forward.  In fact:

Congressional Rethugs See Impending Doom, But Filibuster Ensures That It’s Real Doom:

The Senate on Thursday deadlocked on competing proposals to avert rising health care premiums, blocking Democratic and Republican alternatives in an outcome that made it all but certain that expanded tax subsidies for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act will expire at the end of the month.

Republicans squelched a bid by Democrats, who had demanded action on the issue during the 43-day government shutdown, to extend the insurance subsidies for three years.

Democrats turned back a Republican alternative that would replace the subsidies with an expansion of tax-advantaged health savings accounts and direct payments of up to $1,500 to people who buy the most basic health insurance plans.

Both plans were thwarted on separate votes of 51 to 48. Four Republicans — Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both of Alaska — joined Democrats in support of taking up the extension, while all Democrats and a single Republican, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, opposed the G.O.P. alternative.

There’s even more terror among House Republicans:

A group of House Republicans moved to force a vote on extending Obamacare health insurance subsidies that will expire in just three weeks, directly challenging party leaders who appear determined to let them lapse.

At least six Republicans signed a discharge petition filed Wednesday on a bill authored by Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Jared Golden (D-Maine) that would extend the expiring tax credits for two years while imposing new eligibility requirements. The subsidies are currently used by more than 20 million Americans.

“It’s a time-sensitive matter, and it’s an existential matter,” Fitzpatrick told reporters after filing the petition. “You try to do things through the normal course. You try to do things through regular order. You know, [when] all those remedies are exhausted, then you’ve got to go this route, unfortunately.”

Another discharge petition, seeking a vote on a one-year subsidy extension authored by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), was also filed Wednesday and quickly picked up support from several Republicans.

The moves to sidestep Speaker Mike Johnson came as a growing number of mainstream House Republicans publicly warned that their leaders’ apparent plan to allow the tax credits to expire without a replacement in place will cost them their majority in next year’s midterm elections.

The Republicans joining Fitzpatrick in signing the discharge petition include Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Kevin Kiley of California, Mike Lawler of New York and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, with New York Rep. Nick LaLota also indicating he planned to sign. Kiggans signed the petition to discharge her own bill, along with Fitzpatrick, Lawler, Mackenzie and Rep. David Valadao of California.

GOP leaders have argued, including at Wednesday morning’s conference meeting, that the subsidies are wasteful and that there is not enough internal support to extend them. But others in the party ranks have their doubts.

“I call bullshit on that,” said one conservative House Republican in a deep-red seat who was granted anonymity to speak frankly. “Most people here know we need a bridge.”

I really hope that something gets done.  The thought of 20 million more people unable to afford health insurance is terrifying to me.  But if it doesn’t,  I think the Rethuglican Party as we know it will be in the wilderness for some time.  Starting in January, when a significant number of R’s decide they don’t want to go out on their shields.

A True Local Hero: Paola Subervi.  Standing up for the victims of Trump’s hatred:

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has seen students, veterans, permanent residents and even U.S. citizens detained by federal agents, while driving many immigrants in Delaware underground. A tax preparer is now on the front lines of the enforcement’s aftermath in Maryland and Sussex County — coordinating information, help and resources to affected families.

The sound of The Marvelettes 1961 Motown single “Please Mr. Postman” crept into Paola Subervi’s office from a speaker in the next room as she typed on her strawberry cream keyboard. The certified tax preparer swiveled behind her desk in prominent maroon Doc Martens leather boots as she leisurely drifted between English and Spanish.

The front of her desk displayed a jovial sign reading, “Don’t ask me…I make it up as I go.”

But each stranger in her WhatsApp inbox did, indeed, ask her. And they all needed her help. 

Someone looking for childcare because their babysitter got deported? Subervi knows someone. Want to send money to your loved one in an immigration detention center? Subervi can send it. Can’t find your relative who was detained by federal agents? Subervi can help. 

Subervi has become an expert at navigating the intricacies of the new reality that many immigrants in Maryland and southern Delaware find themselves in — often alone and unsure of what to do in the face of intense federal enforcement. Her renowned wherewithal on these processes — finding people, towing cars, managing WhatsApp groups, buying plane tickets home — has become indispensable to many.

Subervi has gained a reputation along the lines of, “If you can’t find someone, call Paola,” according to one Salisbury, Md, resident who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of immigration enforcement.

If she doesn’t know how to help, she will learn.

“You do whatever needs to be done to help,” Subervi said.

That’s a motto to live by these days.

What do you want to talk about?