I write these columns a couple of days before they get published. That makes it difficult to talk about something that might happen in the future.

But I feel confident that by the time this article gets published our government will still be shut down. The Senate will continue to hold votes that they know will fail, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson will not call the House back in session. Rinse and Repeat.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have had to work and still get paid I would have run for Congress.

The Senate Democrats have fought the good fight but it’s time to let the Republicans have their way. I think the Democrats could win in the long run by letting the Republicans win in the short run if they played their cards right.

If I was in charge, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries would hold a press conference with as many Democrats from all wings of the party standing behind them and admit temporary defeat.

They should say that they tried to keep the healthcare subsidies in place, but the Republicans wouldn’t let them. They tried to keep healthcare and other inflationary costs down for working Americans, but the Republicans blocked them at every opportunity. They should say that they are giving in so that the federal workers who are still working can start to get paid -that the furloughed workers can get back to work. They should say that they are giving in so SNAP recipients can get the food subsidies they need. They are giving in to get Speaker Johnson to swear in Adelita Grijalva to be the final vote to release the Epstein files. They should say that the pain the people feel with raising health care costs and cut government programs is all the Republicans fault.

They could run video from 2015 where President Trump said that he would reveal his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare in two weeks. He promised to have healthcare costs reduced. Just like the President’s tax returns, those plans have yet to be released.

Right now, the Republicans are blaming the Democrats, and the Democrats are blaming the Republicans for the government shutdown. The truth lies somewhere down the middle. Both sides are having a pissing match and we the people are the ones getting wet.

Compromise should not be a dirty word, but in Washington D.C it is. The Constitution itself was a compromise. If the Republicans refuse to compromise the Democrats need to find a way to get what they want without them. And one way to do that is to let the policies of the Trump administration hurt the American people to the point where Republican members of Congress have to stand up to the President to possibly avoid a majority of the American people getting off their couches and voting for the Democrats in the next election.

Now I’m not saying that the country should swing to the far left. Not in the least. I believe the only way for Dems to be truly successful is to show their moderate side. Zohran Mamdani might be able to win in New York, but he certainly can’t win in the rest of the country.

Where are the Bob Kerry’s and Ben Nelson’s of the party? Democrats who can appeal to rural America. Democrats who can work across the aisle. The party needs more of them and fewer Bernie Sanders and AOC’s. Likewise, the Republicans need more people like Ronald Reagan and Chuck Hagel and fewer Jim Jordan’s and Lauren Boeberts.

Many people supported Trump because they believed that government should be run like a business. Under this administration America is being run by a CEO that’s living high on the hog with his ball room and private jet while many of his employees stand in line to get handouts from the food bank. This is not a business model that is programmed to succeed. This is not the way any business should be run.

Like I said, I have a hard time writing about things that might happen in the future. Even if that future is just a few days away.

But I believe in the future there’s a good chance America could end up like one of Trump’s bankrupt casinos if we keep heading down this path. It’s time for the Democrats to toss in their cards and let the chips fall where they may. I think getting the Federal employees paid, and the bad feelings towards the Republicans for rising costs, will be a winning hand for them in 2026.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

Opinions expressed by columnists in The Daily Record are not necessarily those of its management or staff, and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. Any errors or omissions should be called to our attention so that they may be corrected. Contact us at news@omahadailyrecord.com.