Fall in Line

Some of the more progressive members of the House Democratic caucus are already making rumblings about laying the groundwork now to impeach President Trump should they retake the House in the midterms. My advice to them: please don’t.

Representative Delia Ramirez (D-Ill) told Axios last week that she’s been telling her party leadership to create “a concrete, coordinated strategy” so that on day one of the next term, “we’ve created the conditions, we’ve done the fact checking, we’ve done the shadow hearings, everything we need to be able to impeach” the president.

Missing from her interview with Axios was any concrete reason for impeaching the president.

It reminded me of a friend of mine who was widowed several years ago, and shortly after her husband’s passing, she told me she was going to get married again. I asked her if she had fallen in love and she said, “No, I’m not dating anyone yet. I just know I want to get married again.”

In other words, she was in love with the notion of marriage, not a specific person. I worry that the Democrats will fall in love again with the notion of impeachment at a time when the country can little afford the drama and division that would come with it.

I understand some of the more left-leaning members of Congress have serious, nearly existential issues with the president and many of his policies. But aside from a fresh war with Iran started by someone who promised to end wars, no one should be surprised by any of the president’s actions and policies. They were all clearly articulated during the campaign and formed the bedrock of his support among his base and, until recently, many independents.

Granted, the “how” of his administration’s execution of those policies has caused a dramatic slide in his popularity outside his base, particularly on the economy, which was long his strong suit among independents.

But talking about impeachment now, or even quietly laying the groundwork behind the scenes for it, is only a distraction that Democrats can ill afford.

Their own candidates in off-cycle elections this year have dramatically outperformed their opponents in areas the president handily won, showing there’s a path to victory that doesn’t include villainizing the president, and instead focuses on “dinner table” issues of affordability.

Thankfully, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is wisely resisting the calls for impeachment from those in his party. As the next potential Speaker of the House, he told Fox News Sunday on April 26 that impeaching the president will not be a priority if the Democrats take back the majority.

“Of course not,” he said. “I’ve made clear from the very beginning that our top priority is going to be to drive down the high cost of living... and that means a good paying job and good housing, good health care, good education for your children, and when it’s all said and done, a good retirement.”

It seems quite intentional, in my opinion, that he delivered those remarks on Fox News. Leader Jeffries is smart enough to know that any talk of impeachment only helps the president’s standing with his base, something President Trump also knows equally well. It’s why he’s been saying since January that if Democrats retake the House, they will try to impeach him.

There’s an old saying that Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line, particularly in regard to selecting presidential candidates. President Trump’s popularity among his most hardcore supporters has flipped that script these days, so I hope it’s the Democrats who fall in line behind Leader Jeffries’ more pragmatic approach.