Once again, in a special election to the House of Representatives, the Democrats came up short. As of this writing, five times Republicans managed to hold off strong efforts by the Democrats to cut into the majority the GOP has in the 435 member House.
At the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, Democrats loudly announced that they were going to become the Resistance, fighting every effort by the administration to enact any kind of program. From the protests to the prolonged battles over Trump’s nominees for public office, the knives were out. Charges of collusion with the Russians in last year’s election have been constant, drowning out other news and developments. Now the hopes of those opposed to the administration rest on the special counsel appointed to look into various allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the President’s team.
How well has this “contest” played out? Are the Democrats winning in their quest to delegitimize President Trump? Can we see where eventually he will be driven from office, either by impeachment or frustration?
There is no question that the agenda and message that Trump’s administration wants to pursue has been muted by the activities of Democrats in Congress. At last count, the President has signed about 36 bills passed by Congress, but to listen to the opposition you would never know it. Only the most visible battles fought to a successful conclusion by Trump are known by the general public, with the most important was the nomination and confirmation of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. High profile issues like the repeal of Obamacare and overhauling the tax code have been cited by Democrats as proof that the President is “failing”. And the “resistance” has had a role in making sure these issues are delayed, with the tax bill now being touted as coming out in early September, and no one knows when the Republicans’ version of a health care system will be rolled out of the Senate. With no positive contributions from the minority, major legislation does take some time to enact. This development, or lack of, seems to indicate there is some “winning” by the Democrats.
Since the mid-term elections are about 17 months away, Democrats have touted the unpopularity of President Trump and sought to diminish the numerical edge the Republicans hold in the House by winning four “open” seats which were decided in special elections. Yet in Kansas, Montana, twice in Georgia and in South Carolina, the GOP won those elections. Because each of these were close contests, some believe that the Dems have won “moral” victories. Yet even one of their own simply opined, “A loss is a loss”. By holding those seats, the Republicans dealt the Democrats a demoralizing loss, no winning there.
Investigating the Russian involvement in the 2016 election began in July of last year, and many Democrats felt this would start to bring down the President. Yet, even some elected Democrats have acknowledged that no evidence links Trump to those efforts to meddle in our election process. Although this was a big disappointment to the those in the minority party who seem to hate the President, this continuing “story” masks the positive moves by Trump.
When James Comey was fired by Trump last month, the sharks were in a feeding frenzy. Obviously, according to the Democrats, the President was obstructing justice. But when Comey testified to a Senate committee, that was seen to be a stretch, as he seemed to absolve Trump from that charge. But one good outcome came from this confrontation, the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, something which the Democrats wanted for the last four months.
However, the constant criticism has managed to make Trump more unpopular, according to most polls. And because that criticism was not always fair, the President took to his Twitter account for his responses. Many of his tweets were worse than the charges leveled against him, so his ratings fell accordingly. In recent weeks, the Resistance hurt the effort to oust the President. Kathy Griffin, she of the severed Trump head, Shakespeare in the Park’s version of assassinating Caesar depicted as Trump, and James Hodgkinson who shot Congressman Steve Scalise were all anti-Trumpers, and these have not helped the cause against the President. Even hard-core Trump haters have disavowed the violence, either real or imagined, and put some of the Resistance on the defensive.
Marches in opposition have been held sporadically over the five months of Trump’s Presidency, and these have featured words and actions of fierce resistance to him. Madonna famously claimed to have wanted to “burn down the White House,” and many have claimed Trump is “not my president”. While these demonstrations were stridently anti-Trump, no discernable effect has been measured. Letting off steam and getting to take a trip with like-minded activists seem to be the only positives from these exercises in futility.
Impeachment is a pipe dream, only pushed by the rabidly committed. To flip 24 Republicans in the House will be nearly impossible, absent a proven crime. If that were to happen, to then have 19 Republican Senators desert Trump to convict is stretching the limits of believability. Won’t happen, even though Maxine Waters, the way-out Congresswoman (D-CA) still thinks it possible.
Where does this leave us with the basic question — are the Democrats winning? The incessant anti-Trump propaganda has made him less popular. The special counsel could be seen as a plus, and the obstruction of many of the administration’s initiatives could be placed in the win column. Included in the positives for the Democrats would be the firing of Michael Flynn for lying, the heated headlines about Russia and investigation into the activities of his team, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner.
But the President has had his share of victories. Getting Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court is perhaps the most important, as this will influence the Court for many years. The first foreign trip by Trump has been generally hailed as a triumph. For the most part, the President has assembled an impressive team in the Cabinet and in the more important offices he gets to fill. Trump has also reversed many of the previous administration’s regulations. By doing so, the stalled oil pipelines are now under construction, and, at least in a small way, even coal mining is making a comeback. Regulations concerning land use on Federal acreage have been corrected to a more equitable arrangement. Even though it seems that Trump is less popular than when he was inaugurated, he still draws large crowds, polls show he would still beat Mrs. Clinton if a rematch were held, and those running against him in those aforementioned Congressional contests didn’t prevail.
More rational Democrats are looking beyond 2018 to 2020 and the next Presidential election. It has been announced that a fundraiser for Trump’s reelection has been scheduled, so the race to oppose him is heating up. And what a lineup of announced candidates the Democrats have ready. Hillary Clinton! Joe Biden! Bernie Sanders! And — drum roll, please — Eric Holder. Election 2020 looks like fun.