- Feb 12, 2007
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The next two years are going to chockful of divisiveness, drama and Existential Angst....all within the Democrat House majority. Occasional Cortex's Glowball Wirming protest outside Pelosi's office is just the beginning.
The Moderates vs. the Progs will be incredibly popcorn-worthy. Stock up on your supplies before the shelves are bare!
House Democrats figured out how to win in districts that narrowly supported President Donald Trump in 2016. Now they have to figure out how to govern there.
That's one of the key issues facing Democrats as they prepare to take control of the House for the first time in eight years: How do they strike a balance between progressive voters who are anxious to see Democrats stand up to Trump and more moderate voters in formerly Republican districts who decided to pull the lever for Democrats last week?
Both constituencies will be pivotal to shaping the party's identity ahead of 2020, when Democrats will be trying to hang onto the House while Trump runs for re-election. Moderates and progressive House members are both trying to position themselves for the coming identity crisis —or power struggle —in a closely divided chamber.
"If we're going to start out with impeachment and this and this, I mean, the American public is going to say, 'what did we put in charge?'" said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a moderate who has been in office since 2005, even as many other moderate Democrats lost their races.
He's worried about progressives controlling the agenda and costing Democrats the House by losing seats in more conservative areas....
Divisions between progressives and moderates threaten to complicate Democrats' new House majority
"I don't want to be in the majority only four years and then get kicked out," he said. Some progressive members "think 'we can come in, change the world.' A lot of it is done incremental, it's incremental work."
But progressives want to pursue bold ideas that have grown in popularity while Democrats have been in political exile —such as Medicare for all. They're equally concerned about not responding to the electorate that they feel delivered them the House.
"If we don't respond to the electoral wins we've had, we won't have a good 2020," said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus....[/i]
Divisions between progressives and moderates threaten to complicate Democrats' new House majority
The Moderates vs. the Progs will be incredibly popcorn-worthy. Stock up on your supplies before the shelves are bare!
House Democrats figured out how to win in districts that narrowly supported President Donald Trump in 2016. Now they have to figure out how to govern there.
That's one of the key issues facing Democrats as they prepare to take control of the House for the first time in eight years: How do they strike a balance between progressive voters who are anxious to see Democrats stand up to Trump and more moderate voters in formerly Republican districts who decided to pull the lever for Democrats last week?
Both constituencies will be pivotal to shaping the party's identity ahead of 2020, when Democrats will be trying to hang onto the House while Trump runs for re-election. Moderates and progressive House members are both trying to position themselves for the coming identity crisis —or power struggle —in a closely divided chamber.
"If we're going to start out with impeachment and this and this, I mean, the American public is going to say, 'what did we put in charge?'" said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a moderate who has been in office since 2005, even as many other moderate Democrats lost their races.
He's worried about progressives controlling the agenda and costing Democrats the House by losing seats in more conservative areas....
Divisions between progressives and moderates threaten to complicate Democrats' new House majority
"I don't want to be in the majority only four years and then get kicked out," he said. Some progressive members "think 'we can come in, change the world.' A lot of it is done incremental, it's incremental work."
But progressives want to pursue bold ideas that have grown in popularity while Democrats have been in political exile —such as Medicare for all. They're equally concerned about not responding to the electorate that they feel delivered them the House.
"If we don't respond to the electoral wins we've had, we won't have a good 2020," said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus....[/i]
Divisions between progressives and moderates threaten to complicate Democrats' new House majority