I live in Mississippi. I'd kill to have any of the 3 Dems voting yes as representatives
I haven't had a chance to go to a town hall or a debate but once in my adult life. And that was when blue dog Democrat Gene Taylor was still my Congressman before he was swept away in 2010.
Now, I have Steven Palazzo, who has done a single town hall since he won that seat because he doesn't know how to interact and simply does what the guys in DC tell him. I've never known a Democratic Senator; I have Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, who also never do town halls or debates because they feel pretty secure in the knowledge that MS voters will just reelect them, always marking Republican.
I wish I was one of those red state voters blessed with a blue dog Congressman or Senator who at least listened to what I had to say even if he or she did piss me off every now and then. I'd understand why they couldn't always vote the way I wanted them to.
It takes a certain amount of privilege, I'd think, to want to primary Dems in very red states for not toeing the line – especially when they are merely symbolically not toeing the line, because by filibuster or by nuclear option, the 3 wouldn't make a difference anyway.
It's important to remember that the 3 Democrats supporting Gorsuch are from very, very red states that Trump won by huge margins -- and they are all up for election in 2018.
In the states these 3 are from, "Trump won Indiana by 19 points, West Virginia by more than 40 points and North Dakota by 35 points."
In other words, replacing them with a more left wing candidate in a primary is a guarantee that Republicans will pick up the seat.
We can't afford to lose those seats. Allowing a few red states Dems who are seriously endangered to vote for Gorsuch won't get him to 60 votes, but it might save the Senate for us in 2018 (or, in a worse scenario, prevent the GOP from winning a Senate Super Majority).
So stop the "PRIMARY THE TRAITORS!" rhetoric. That's what kept the GOP from winning the Senate majority in 2010 when they decided to primary every blue state Republican who didn't toe the Tea Party line.
But we aren't the Tea Party. So don't act like it. We have very few red state Dems, and they deserve a little leniency. Folks act as if these 3 Democrats are doing this singularly out of a craven lust for political power – a lust for which they are willing to abandon their values and beliefs. But if that were the case, they'd just switch parties and run as Republicans. It'd be much easier, friendlier, and more lucrative in those very red states.
= new reply since forum marked as read
