Democrats' complacency is not cutting it. We need to crawl underneath and fix what’s broken.

"I’m proud to be a Democrat. But I’m also furious. Furious at the complacency, the calculation, and the careerism that treats politics like a game...while people’s lives hang in the balance."

The Recombobulation Area is a 19-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winning opinion column and online publication founded by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. The Recombobulation Area is now part of Civic Media.

“Community generosity can keep folks afloat for a while, but it can’t replace the responsibility of our government to make sure families can afford groceries in the first place.” Photo by Emily Tseffos.

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When I was young, my dad taught me how to change the oil in my little white Toyota. I’m sure I rolled my eyes and gave him some grief when he called me outside, but he said I “should know how to do this stuff,” so we did. We drove the car up onto the ramps in the driveway, grabbed the wrench and the pan, and slid underneath.

He showed me how to check the dipstick, drain the old oil, replace the filter, and refill it. The lesson then was that you can’t run something into the ground and expect it to last. You have to take care of it.

It was messy work, but it stuck with me. If you want something to last, you maintain it. And when something’s broken, you don’t just talk about it or ignore the check engine light. You fix it.

That’s what leadership is supposed to be. Maintenance. Repair. The willingness to get your hands dirty to keep the thing running. But somewhere along the way, too many people in power stopped doing that kind of work.

This week’s continuing resolution out of the U.S. Senate proved it. Eight Democrats joined Republicans to move the deal forward, a temporary patch to keep the government open until the end of January. But this “deal” left millions of Americans wondering how they’ll afford health insurance when their Affordable Care Act tax credits expire in a few weeks.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, to her credit, tried to fix it. She introduced an amendment to restore those tax credits for one year, the very thing that’s kept coverage within reach for millions of working families. Republicans voted it down, just like everyone expected. And because too many Democrats had already voted yes on the “deal,” there was nothing left to force their hand.

Once again, the path of least resistance won out when what the moment demanded was courage.

I am an endless sigh.

We’re told to trust the process, but the process has turned into a machine that runs on autopilot. We’re told to wait our turn, but people have been waiting for decades — for affordable housing, for child care, for fair wages, for hospitals that don’t shut down because rural health care isn’t profitable.

That check engine light has been blinking red for a long time, and the folks at the top just keep driving, pretending the smell of smoke is nothing to worry about.

Emily Tseffos helped raise more than $2,000 and collected thousands of pounds of food for local food pantries during the government shutdown.

But when government stalls, communities don’t. Over the past few weeks, I’ve watched neighbors all across Senate District 19 and Wisconsin prove what real maintenance looks like. When SNAP benefits ran dry and local pantries started sounding the alarm, people didn’t wait for someone in Washington to fix it, we organized food drives. They dropped off groceries at churches and community centers, shared flyers in mom groups, set up porch pickups, and gave what they could.

In just a few days, we collected thousands of pounds of food and more than $2,000 for local pantries. That’s people stepping up to keep each other fed when those in power look the other way. It’s what good government should look like. Something that is steady, reliable – human.

But it also reminded me that even the best patch won’t fix a cracked engine block. Community generosity can keep folks afloat for a while, but it can’t replace the responsibility of our government to make sure families can afford groceries in the first place. When you’re constantly refilling a leaking system, you’re not solving the problem. You’re buying time. And time is running out.

I’m proud to be a Democrat. I’m proud to run as one. But I’m also furious. Furious at the complacency, the calculation, and the careerism that treats politics like a game of musical chairs while people’s lives hang in the balance.

I’m also tired of being kneecapped by career politicians who care more about maintaining their seats than serving the people who sent them there. If you’re not willing to take the hits, to lose the fancy committee appointment, to upset your donors, then this moment isn’t for you. Get out of the way. Because this moment demands courage, not caution. It demands grease-stained hands, not clean ones.

This isn’t a time for half-measures or safe votes. Every time our leaders hesitate, Republican leadership moves faster to dismantle another piece of what keeps this country running: health care, education, food security, retirement. And the longer we stall, the more damage they do.

Let’s be clear. This isn’t the Republican Party of decades past. The GOP leadership of today is hell-bent on dismantling the very systems that keep people alive. They’re trying to strip the system for parts — dismantling the Affordable Care Act, public schools, Social Security, SNAP.

But I also know there are Republicans and independents who feel the same frustrations I do. They’ve watched their towns hollow out, their hospitals close, their kids move away for opportunity that no longer exists at home. They know the people running this system, in both parties, haven’t been under the hood in years. They’re not the enemy. They’re the neighbors still showing up to keep the thing running when others have walked away.

And like every working person, they’ve been told to sit tight and trust that help is on the way. The truth is, our politics needs a rebuild — and real change. The filters are clogged, the oil’s filthy, and the people in charge keep pretending it’ll run fine if they just turn up the radio a little louder. But we know better.

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Running again, during the collapse

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Democrats, we need to be the ones reimagining systems and structures that have never really worked for working people and being brave enough to offer people something different that truly puts people at the center.

Our politics have become a machine that protects the powerful from accountability and convinces everyone else that nothing can change. But that’s a lie. Things can change if we start electing leaders who remember who they work for, who don’t mistake politeness for principle, and who are willing to fight for what’s right even when it’s not politically convenient.

Because the truth is, people have waited long enough. They deserve so much more than empty promises and patience as those in power continue to uphold systems and relationships that have never served their communities anyway. They deserve a government that works, not one running on fumes.

We don’t need more politicians. We need leaders who are bold, scrappy, and principled who understand that people have waited long enough and deserve more than empty speeches. Last week, Democrats across the country won big – not because they played it safe, but because they dared to be bold and courageous in their vision. Voters rewarded candidates who spoke plainly, fought for ordinary people, and refused to wait their turn.

And if you’re not willing to get your hands dirty and do the work, then move aside. There are plenty of us ready to grab the wrench.

Because this country is not beyond repair. Not yet. The parts are still good. The tools are in our hands. We just need leaders willing to slide under the frame and get to work before the engine gives out for good.

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Author’s Note

My dad didn’t teach me about politics. He taught me about maintenance – and with that comes lessons about responsibility, consistency, and doing the work even when no one’s watching. He showed me that things only keep running when you care enough to tend to them.

That’s the kind of leadership we need right now: leadership that isn’t afraid of the mess, that doesn’t shy away from the hard jobs, that knows what it means to take care of something because people’s lives depend on it.

Last week’s Democratic wins across the country reminded me that people are hungry for exactly that. They’re choosing candidates who speak plainly, fight for working people, and don’t wait their turn

That gives me hope. Hope for what’s next. Hope for candidates like my friend Aftyn Behn down in Tennessee who is running a bold, unapologetic, people-first campaign as she fights to flip a Congressional seat in a special election. She’s not waiting her turn; she’s saying all the things that should’ve been said long ago. And she’s proving that courage is contagious.

Because when candidates like Aftyn acknowledge the wear and tear on the car is real - that we are long overdue for repairs - it inspires each of us to take a look under the hood and fix what we can alongside them. We need mechanics. People who know what a wrench feels like, who remember who they work for, who aren’t afraid to strip out what’s failed and rebuild it from the ground up.

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Follow Dan Shafer on Twitter at @DanRShafer and at BlueSky at @danshafer.bsky.social.