Most Democrats describe President Donald Trump with a great deal of hyperbole. We’ve apparently never seen a President like this before, and his unstable behavior is cause for panic. Many want to deal with him by removal, and there is a growing number of lawmakers embracing his impeachment. But even with this plan ongoing, Democratic leaders oppose impeaching the President and believe all ongoing investigations should conclude.
With all of this said, there still are some Democratic lawmakers who have gone rogue and will continue to do so because their hatred of Trump. Congressman Al Green (D-TX) moved to force a floor vote on his impeachment resolution. It happened, but it failed by a wide margin. Despite it’s failure, it showed that support among the Democratic caucus for impeaching Trump is growing.
For the Democratic establishment, this is a bad thing.
In the year after 2016’s stunning collapse, the Democratic Party has struggled to find its new direction. Progressives led by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) seek to enact their left-wing agenda while the more moderate mainstream resists this lurch toward socialism. The mainstream Democratic Party doesn’t want to take a hard swing to the left and alienate the centrists who lean a little to the left.
Hillary Clinton can’t let go of her ambitions, regularly laying blame at everyone from the Democratic National Committee to various individuals in American politics and government for her stunning defeat. The continued finger-pointing drives deeper the divide that the massive difference in principles only makes worse.
Taking down President Trump and stopping the Trump Administration agenda was supposed to unite the party, but not even that works.
Republicans have long chided Democrats for being unwilling to come to the table and work together. Now that they have the congressional majorities, they’re in a better position to command the conversation. Impeachment only feeds the idea that Democrats are partisan warriors who refuse to seek our civility. With impeachment comes deep and intense criticism of the targeted figure, in this case the President.
While Democrats believe there is no working with the President, the leaders who are attempting to find some common ground are undermined.
Republicans faced a similar dilemma under former President Barack Obama’s administration. Democrats regularly attacked Republicans as being overly critical, excessively obstructive, and incapable of achieving civility for the sake of bipartisanship. Despite all the conservative opposition to Obama, the Republican leadership refused to take impeachment take the floor and funded all of his agenda in the House. It divided the Party.
Nobody expects impeachment to pass the House of Representatives in the current session. There is no way that the Republican majority would let it happen. Democratic leaders could attempt to force the issue and be a vocal opponent to whatever the Republicans have on their agenda. Instead, grassroots liberals and progressives are stuck with the leadership the Democratic Party wanted. This exacerbates tensions even further.
Conservatives and libertarians have long said that Nancy Pelosi and other leaders in the Democratic Party are awful. Now progressives and liberals are learning what many across America have already known. But the problem here is that a top goal for the grassroots is being obstructed by a political party that is continuing to tear itself down.
