Voters want impeachment and a progressive policy agenda. House leaders have another idea.
By Cenk Uygur July 21, 2019 (wsj.com)
When people say that Democrats should unify, the part they leave out is most important: Around what? Nearly everyone in Washington seems to assume that progressives should shut up, accept their place, and unify around the status quo.
Think about what an arrogant and preposterous request that is. Progressive leaders, including our representatives in Congress, should abandon all of our policy positions and sell out our voters to please the Democratic establishment. Saying “hell no” to that would be an enormous understatement.
If Democratic leaders don’t want to fight Donald Trump, that’s their problem, not ours. We signed up to rout him and send him home. If you’re not on board with that, get out of the way and let us do it. Democratic voters were clear in 2018 that they want Mr. Trump impeached. Yet again last week Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her allies blocked an opportunity by tabling Rep. Al Green’s resolution.
Unlike Mr. Green, I don’t think we need to discuss President Trump’s political or racial ideology to favor impeachment. The president has clearly committed two crimes. Robert Mueller’s report outlines double-digit instances of obstruction of justice. That’s a felony. Michael Cohen confirmed that Mr. Trump worked with him to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels in violation of campaign-finance laws—a crime for which Mr. Cohen is in prison.
That’s apparently still not enough for Mrs. Pelosi. There is not a single public official doing more to protect Mr. Trump than she is. Even Attorney General William Barr couldn’t stop an impeachment inquiry if he tried. The only person who has the power to seek justice against Mr. Trump steadfastly refuses to pursue him. The only thing Mrs. Pelosi appears to be resisting is holding Mr. Trump accountable.
Democratic powder to fight Republicans is forever dry. Detention centers without any constraints? Check. Defeating an amendment to prohibit the Pentagon from housing kids at the military facilities? Check. Continuing to let Mr. Trump run roughshod through a House the Democrats control is an abdication of responsibility. Democrats have been surrendering to the GOP for as long as I have been alive. That is part of the reason we formed the Justice Democrats—because we’re sick of the nonstop capitulation. It’s time for strong Democrats. Justice is coming.
Then Mrs. Pelosi makes the absurd point that we don’t want to waste our time fighting or impeaching Trump because that would take time away from policy. What policy? She calls the Green New Deal, the “green dream or whatever.” She says she has 30-year-old “signs about single payer” in her basement but insists we aren’t ready for it.
Progressives have been asking for a vote on the minimum wage for six months. Mrs. Pelosi said she’d hold one within the first 100 hours. When she didn’t, the rationale was that some conservative Democrats objected. So what? Let them vote no and it’ll pass easily anyway. We were right. After enormous pressure by progressives, finally the House voted Thursday. Only six Democrats opposed it.
So Mrs. Pelosi allowed six corporate Democrats to hold up that legislation for six months—but God forbid a progressive Democrat ever objects to leadership. Then we’ll have a national controversy over how insolent young progressive women are.
The overwhelming majority of Democratic voters want to fight Mr. Trump and pass progressive priorities. If the Democrats unify around anything, it should be around their voters, who clearly prefer the positions of Justice Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. If the pundits really believe in unity—as opposed to submission to the establishment—they will support the logical conclusion that the Democratic Party should unify around AOC, not Mrs. Pelosi.
Mr. Uygur is creator and a co-host of “The Young Turks” and a co-founder of the Justice Democrats.
