{"id":3219,"date":"2025-01-29T20:13:11","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T00:13:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kawsachunnews.com\/w\/lifelong-dems-ditch-party-over-inaction-as-trump-2-0-surges\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T20:13:13","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T00:13:13","slug":"lifelong-dems-ditch-party-over-inaction-as-trump-2-0-surges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kawsachunnews.com\/w\/lifelong-dems-ditch-party-over-inaction-as-trump-2-0-surges\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifelong Dems Ditch Party Over Inaction as Trump 2.0 Surges"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Just a week into Republican U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term, prominent Democratic allies voiced their exasperation over the Democratic Congress’s tepid response to Trump’s recent unconstitutional, xenophobic, and discriminatory executive orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocrats in Congress: WHAT IS THE PLAN?\u201d Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, voiced her frustration on Monday.<\/p>\n

Watts pointed to Trump\u2019s recent dismissal of at least 12 federal agency inspectors general on Friday\u2014a move that sparked outrage among Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), yet resulted in minimal concrete action from party leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo sit-in? No filibuster? No guidance for voters? And actually, some of you are supporting Trump\u2019s agenda?\u201d Watts questioned, referring indirectly to Democrats such as Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who last week supported some of Trump\u2019s Cabinet picks and the controversial anti-immigration Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation approved for Trump\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n

On the social media platform X, Watts, who typically identifies with the Democratic establishment, described herself as a “loyal ‘normie Dem.'”<\/p>\n

Leah Greenberg, a former Democratic congressional staffer and co-founder of the grassroots group Indivisible, echoed Watts\u2019s sentiment, which she noted is widespread among group members nationwide.<\/p>\n

In his first week, Trump not only purged key federal officials but also pardoned over 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack, initiated an aggressive immigration crackdown in Chicago, and attempted to end birthright citizenship\u2014a move promptly blocked by a federal judge as “blatantly unconstitutional.”<\/p>\n

Last week, as reported by Common Dreams<\/em>, the Democratic Party\u2019s reluctance to firmly oppose the now GOP-dominated Congress and White House has left progressive figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) calling for a bolder, more confrontational approach. During Jon Stewart\u2019s podcast, “The Weekly Show,” she argued for a transformation within the party to genuinely represent working-class interests, a shift seemingly hindered by the party\u2019s ongoing financial ties to corporate lobbyists and the ultra-wealthy.<\/p>\n

Highlighting Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s recent House floor opposition to the Laken Riley Act\u2014which mandates the detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft and allows state legal challenges to detain specific immigrants\u2014Watts praised what she described as \u201cthe energy we need.\u201d<\/p>\n

The act was passed with 46 Democrats siding with Republicans in the House, and 12 in the Senate.<\/p>\n

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) faced criticism for his tepid summary of Trump\u2019s first week, which one detractor likened to offering “thoughts and prayers.”<\/p>\n

Civil rights lawyer Scott Hechinger criticized the Democratic response as insufficient against Trump\u2019s actions, which he characterized as historically racist and fascist.<\/p>\n

Watts, Greenberg, and Ezra Levin, also a co-founder of Indivisible, have urged voters to pressure their representatives to adopt a more assertive stance against the Republicans, as Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo<\/em> emphasized last week. He suggested that Democrats should not be courting potential GOP defectors with mild criticism but should instead intensify their opposition to make GOP support costly at the polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe job of the opposition is quite literally to oppose,\u201d Marshall noted. \u201cGet to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenberg on Monday stressed the importance of constituents demanding action from their Democratic representatives to overcome their apparent fear of Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be amazing if we had a party of principled, authentic leaders who could oppose without needing constant prodding from us,\u201d Greenberg stated. \u201cWe do not have that right now! So we need to keep pushing them!\u201d<\/p>\n

Contrary to some media reports, Levin indicated that voters nationwide are motivated to challenge the Trump administration and insist Democratic leaders do the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the Chicago Indivisible meeting I attended yesterday, not only was the main theater full, but so was an overflow room,\u201d Levin reported. \u201cIn North Carolina, where Leah Greenberg was yesterday, there was standing room only. Since the election, we’ve seen about 250 *new* Indivisible groups start, and leaders are reporting a surge in membership.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n