Intolerant Democrats Devour Their Own
The party’s left wing wants to purge anyone opposed to abortion or single-payer health.
The party’s left wing wants to purge anyone opposed to abortion or single-payer health.
It is impossible to deny that the past six months have been rough for the Republican Party. The GOP Congress failed to fulfill its pledge to repeal and replace ObamaCare, and the president now has a lowly 38% job-approval rating, according to the Real Clear Politics average.
Yet none of this means these are bright days for Democrats. Last week one of their own, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, announced—while standing next to President Trump at a boisterous rally—that he was switching to the Republican Party. With the addition of Mr. Justice, the GOP now holds 34 governorships, tying the party’s nearly century-old record.
Mr. Trump’s 42-point margin of victory in the Mountain State contributed to Mr. Justice’s decision. The governor also laid blame, however, on Democratic state legislators, saying they had “walked away from me.” Democrats controlled the Legislature as recently as 2014, but Republicans now have majorities of nearly 2 to 1 in both the state House and Senate.
At first glance, one might assume the governor’s party switch was what caused Sen. Joe Manchin’s tirade on Sunday, when the West Virginia Democrat told the Charleston Gazette-Mail: “I just don’t give a s—. Don’t care if I get elected, don’t care if I get defeated.” But Mr. Manchin’s ire was actually directed at Democratic critics, who were irritated by his refusal to sign a letter on tax reform issued by his party’s leadership.
Mr. Manchin is not the only Democrat facing pressure from the Elizabeth Warren- Bernie Sanders hard left. In May, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota cast the deciding vote to preserve a costly Obama administration methane regulation that her state’s energy industry strongly opposed. She voted against North Dakota’s interests because she is up for re-election in 2018 and left-wing activists threatened to gin up a primary challenge or withhold their support in the general election....
Yet none of this means these are bright days for Democrats. Last week one of their own, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, announced—while standing next to President Trump at a boisterous rally—that he was switching to the Republican Party. With the addition of Mr. Justice, the GOP now holds 34 governorships, tying the party’s nearly century-old record.
Mr. Trump’s 42-point margin of victory in the Mountain State contributed to Mr. Justice’s decision. The governor also laid blame, however, on Democratic state legislators, saying they had “walked away from me.” Democrats controlled the Legislature as recently as 2014, but Republicans now have majorities of nearly 2 to 1 in both the state House and Senate.
At first glance, one might assume the governor’s party switch was what caused Sen. Joe Manchin’s tirade on Sunday, when the West Virginia Democrat told the Charleston Gazette-Mail: “I just don’t give a s—. Don’t care if I get elected, don’t care if I get defeated.” But Mr. Manchin’s ire was actually directed at Democratic critics, who were irritated by his refusal to sign a letter on tax reform issued by his party’s leadership.
Mr. Manchin is not the only Democrat facing pressure from the Elizabeth Warren- Bernie Sanders hard left. In May, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota cast the deciding vote to preserve a costly Obama administration methane regulation that her state’s energy industry strongly opposed. She voted against North Dakota’s interests because she is up for re-election in 2018 and left-wing activists threatened to gin up a primary challenge or withhold their support in the general election....
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