All last week, pundits kept wondering how Democrats were going to harness the energy of the women's march—as if party leaders would be the guiding force going forward. They will not. Washington almost never leads the way, it follows. And now is no exception. After many hundreds of protesters spontaneously flooded airports this weekend over Donald Trump’s Muslim ban, Democrats are finally realizing that they're not running the show here, the people are. Some lawmakers are beginning to rise to the occasion, while others aren't, writes Jonathan Martin.
Senator Kamala D. Harris of California, who was elected last year, opposed the confirmations of Gen. John F. Kelly as secretary of homeland security and former Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas as Central Intelligence Agency director. The senior senator from her state, Dianne Feinstein, who was first elected in 1992, supported them both.
Both 2018 and 2020 are key considerations for Democratic lawmakers. Feinstein, for instance, is up for re-election next year, while Harris and others have their eyes on a 2020 presidential bid. In both circumstances, elected officials must channel the passion in the streets to stay relevant, not to mention keep their seats. As Markos points out in the New York Times article, "The tea party didn’t really become a force until it started ousting Republicans it didn’t feel represented them. That’s clearly going to have to happen here. ... The usual rules no longer apply.”
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar sits at the crux of that electoral conundrum and is already finding herself on the wrong side of two competing goals. She's got eyes on 2020 but also faces re-election in 2018. Statements like this about Trump's upcoming Supreme Court pick aren't going to meet the 2020 test for a Democratic nominee:
“I believe we must fulfill our constitutional responsibility to have a hearing and a vote,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a member of the Judiciary Committee, while urging Mr. Trump to choose a nominee “in the mainstream.”
Urging Trump to choose a "mainstream" nominee is quite simply laughable. It's like asking Putin to play nice with the Ukraine out of the goodness of his heart. Frankly, Klobuchar's brand of Midwestern moderation is never going to meet the outrage of progressives from coast to coast. I say that as a Midwesterner born and raised and now living on the Left Coast.
Rhode Island Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse on Sunday night found himself explaining his vote for Mike Pompeo as CIA director to a group of angry constituents.
Even progressive darling Sen. Elizabeth Warren is under fire for her vote to approve a man with zero relevant experience to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
As the New York Times article noted, "The demands for purity from Democratic leaders are likely to grow only more unequivocal, and standing in solidarity with sign-waving protesters may prove insufficient."
Here’s your answer to that.