At a time when a backbone is needed, the Democratic Party does not have one. With few exceptions, it is a spineless group. They have no earthly idea how to effectively oppose Donald Trump. They have no idea how to regain power. They have no idea what they are doing right now. Daily, they fail to stand up for their constituents — so much so that it is genuinely hard right now tell most Democrats in the Senate from their Republican colleagues.
So far, and this actually came as a shock to me — 14 Democrats in the Senate have voted for every single nominee of Trump’s that has been approved thus far. They are:
Joe Donnelly of Ind., Dianne Feinstein of Calif., Heidi Heitkamp of N.D., Maggie Hassan of N.H., Amy Klobuchar of Minn., Angus King of Maine, Tim Kaine of Va., Claire McCaskill of Mo., Joe Manchin III of W.Va., Jack Reed of R.I., Jeanne Shaheen of N.H., Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Sheldon Whitehouse R.I., and Mark Warner of Va.
Another 21 Democrats voted to confirm four out of five of Trump’s nominees that have been approved thus far. They are:
First off, Senator Christopher Murphy of Conn. voted to approve four out five of Trump’s confirmed nominees, but abstained from one vote a piece. In other words, he failed to vote no on a single Trump candidate.
Then voting yes on four out of five of Trump’s confirmed nominees, and voting no on just one are:
Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Tammy Baldwin of Wis., Michael Bennet of Colo., Maria Cantwell of Wash., Benjamin Cardin of Md., Thomas Carper of Del., Bob Casey of Pa., Richard Durbin of Ill., Tammy Duckworth of Ill., Al Franken of Minn., Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Patrick Leahy of Vt., Edward Markey of Mass., Robert Menendez of N.J., Patty Murray of Wash., Bill Nelson of Fla., Gary Peters of Mich., Chuck Schumer of N.Y., Debbie Stabenow of Mich., and Jon Tester of Mont.
Then, voting yes on three of five of Trump’s confirmed nominees, and voting no on two are just five Democratic Senators. They are:
Chris Coons of Del., Catherine Cortez Masto of Nev., Kamala Harris of Calif., Chris Van Hollen of Md., and Ron Wyden of Ore.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Conn. voted against one nominee and abstained from another vote.
Finally, with just seven Democrats left, we get to the few who had the political courage to say no to the majority of Donald Trump’s nominees. Six Democrats voted no on three out of five Trump’s confirmed nominees.
They are Cory Booker of N.J., Martin Heinrich of N.M., Jeff Merkley of Ore., Bernie Sanders of Vt., Tom Udall of N.M., and Elizabeth Warren of Mass.
And last but not least, the most courageous of them all has been New York’s own Senator Kirsten Gillibrand who is the lone member of the Senate to vote no on four out of five of Trump’s confirmed nominees.
In other words, 41 Democrats have voted to approve a majority of Trump’s nominees and seven haven’t. That’s where we are right now.
The Democratic Party is as powerless as it has ever been in our lifetime. Republicans control the House, Senate, and the Presidency. Conservatives appear to be on the verge of controlling the Supreme Court. Democrats only have full control of the government in four states — California, Hawaii, Oregon and Rhode Island. The other 46 state governorships and legislatures are either fully controlled by Republicans or partially controlled by them.
For progressive issues that matter, this is a catastrophe. Even as some Democrats have announced that they intend to filibuster Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, over the fact that former President Barack Obama had a nominee nearly a year ago that was refused even a confirmation hearing, many Democrats have become sheepish.
They are gutless. This is why Democrats are losing today. It’s why they lost the presidential election. It’s why Republicans have taken over the majority of state governments. I have no real idea what these Democrats stand for.
When they could, they didn’t stand against the Dakota Access Pipeline and now it appears that construction is imminent. They don’t seem to be particularly anti-war. They don’t seem to be strongly for a $15 minimum wage. They don’t seem to fight like mad for the environment. They don’t really stand strong against big banks or the billionaire class. The majority of them aren’t standing against SuperPAC money in politics. What do they stand for?
They are damn near Republicans. Hell, even Rand Paul voted against one of Trump’s nominees. That’s one more than 14 Democrats and the same as 22 others.
This is why progressives weren’t excited about Tim Kaine as Hillary’s vice president. He has voted to approve each and every one of Trump’s nominees so far.
With all the talk, all the bluster, all the hot air about how uniquely different Democrats are than Republicans, it seems to be a difference of style right now more than a difference in substance. Have some respect for yourself. Stand up against Donald Trump. That Senator Gillibrand is all by herself in voting against four out of five of Trump’s approved nominees is outrageous.
At a time when Democrats need to be lions, most of them are proving to be lambs — taken for the slaughter. It’s painful to watch and will grow increasingly painful for everyday Americans, of which they aren’t, to live through.
