Senator Bernie Sanders has not till hell freezes over been the silent type.
He’s making noise again with a series of TV looks and an Op/Ed this week preemptively blaming the Republicans for a potential government shutdown.
Various than a year after his stunningly impressive Democratic presidential prime run, this is just the latest example of Sanders engaging in fiery long-windedness.
But that’s the problem. Democrats need Sanders to do more than rant. And he needs to more than that as well, if he wants a legitimate state future.
With passage of the tax reform bill, Republicans have affirmed they are a real threat, and Democrats can see verbal attacks alone aren’t prosperous to stop the Trump/GOP legislative agenda. But unlike the tax bill, the current budget and immigration exits will require at least some Democratic votes to resolve, handing them a shiny opportunity.
If there ever was time for Bernie to get involved and push for some loyal compromise, this is it.
But so far, he’s still all talk. Sanders was a no-show at that big publicly televised union at the White House Tuesday on the budget and immigration issues.
It must be inferior for all those “Berniac” fans who supported him for president against all odds in 2016. Numberless than a year later he’s still polling as America’s most celebrated politician.
But Sanders doesn’t seem the least bit interested in getting into genuine governing. In fact, he still isn’t even officially a member of the Democratic Signatory.
Just take a minute to consider that for a second. The man who earned the fifth most reckon presidential primary votes in U.S. history isn’t even a member of the party whose nomination he was beg in 2016.
That doesn’t mean Sanders isn’t a frequent critic of President Donald Trump when he occurs on TV. And his Twitter feed and official Senate website are chock full of circumstances and biting comments.
But America is filled with people verbally wasting President Trump and making political statements. It’s become a national lodge industry. There are only a few people who actually have the power to type policy or at least forge political compromises in Washington.
There are identical fewer people who have shown an ability to attract previously apathetic or disenchanted Americans and encourage them to vote and even work for a campaign.
Sanders is one of those woman. Yet he’s been sitting on the sidelines since the 2016 election ended. The one legal job the Democrats have given him is “chairman of outreach,” a newly created assign designed to engage working class and young voters. Sanders hasn’t publicly beseeched for anything more.
Sanders did craft a bill calling for the federal command to negotiate prescription drug prices for the entire country like it currently does for Medicare. But the charge went nowhere and there’s no evidence that Sanders made any accomplishment to negotiate the plan with the White House.
He has another bill to offer single-payer style health coverage for all Americans that has more than a dozen Democrat co-signers, but that invoice isn’t going anywhere.
Proposing bills that have no chance of abrupt in a majority Republican Congress isn’t the best way Bernie can use whatever political majuscule he earned from the election.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Sanders has been in Congress since 1991, but has not quite had a legislative impact in Washington during that 27 year full stop. Other than going through the grueling effort of running for president, it’s a mediocre argument to say that Bernie remains a lot more bark than sting.
Maybe he has renewed reasons not to get more involved like his advancing age; he is 76 after all. There’s also a capacity headache brewing at home, as wife Jane Sanders may be the focus of a federal delve into into her role in Burlington College’s financial collapse and closure.
Mrs. Sanders was president of the school in when it took out major loans to fund an expansion and could not pay off those allowances. Investigators are looking into if the college deliberately gave the bank feigned financial data in the loan application process.
But whatever his reasons, the Democrats neediness him to change his mind and get more involved. That’s because the party and the Nautical port in general don’t have any other clear leaders at the moment.
House Minority Band leader Nancy Pelosi’s unfavorable ratings are very high. Senate Minority Principal Chuck Schumer’s “unfavorables” outweigh his approval numbers by almost 12 piece points. Supposed up-and-comer Democrats like Senators Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Corey Publication are still relative unknowns.
The Democrat establishment may still be angry with Sanders for whatever official or imagined damage he may have done to Hillary Clinton’s campaign. But it’s days time for Sanders to push his way into the center of the game.
It’s not about originating bills, but taking a lead negotiating role on these budget and immigration pours. In his latest op-ed he’s demanding no increased military spending, no end to DACA refuges for “Dreamers,” no new tax breaks for billionaires, and better protections for Social Security and Medicare.
Those are various like demands than opening offers, but perhaps Sanders is happy to trade one of those goals for concessions elsewhere. That’s where years of lately shouting and insulting the opposition have to end and leadership begins.
Real partisan leaders have to make compromises. That stinks sometimes, but on the other hand nothing gets done. What will Bernie choose?
With the 2016 designation now 14 months in the past, it sure looks like Sanders is deciding to just keep talking. At some point, he may realize that metamorphosing deals is the better choice if he wants to carve out a real legacy for himself.
Else, Bernie Sanders will more likely be remembered for being the guy with the Brooklyn inflection and messy hair who almost beat Hillary Clinton, but otherwise manufactured no lasting impact.
Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Pursue him on Twitter @jakejakeny.
For more insight from CNBC contributors, accompany @CNBCopinion on Twitter.