Adam Mochler

I think that norms in a democracy work like consent.

So in order for there to be meaningful consent in any relationship, there needs to be both parties consenting or else it's not consent.

In the same way that norms work, both parties are playing by the norms or else there are no norms anymore.

For the past decade, Republicans have repeatedly smacked down any type of norm.

We tried to appoint, nominate Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court.

They said, no, you can't do that a year before the election.

And they do the same thing with ACB.

We can go through the stolen election.

We can go with the way that Donald Trump conducts himself every single day.

There are no norms on the Republican side.

So then when you come over to Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer, they're the ones playing by the norms time and time again.

They're trying to uphold a level of normality that just isn't there anymore.

I'm not saying that we should all be Donald Trump or like punch back in the way that he does.

Obviously not.

But I think there is something to be said about using the leverage you have at your disposal and asking for as much as possible rather than conceding or like preconceiving that maybe we won't get everything that we want.

The DHS negotiation and funding is a good example.

It's a good start that they're using the leverage that they have to try to block DHS funding.

But some of their asks were like, do you remember when it was like they should be able to wear masks?

They shouldn't be able to wear masks most of the time.

And I said, what are you guys talking about?