From Washington State to Washington DC, Democrats across the country are stepping up what some call “The Resistance” to President Trump, moving across political, legal, bureaucratic, legislative, and civil disobedience fronts to frustrate the newly elected president’s agenda.
Just moments after Trump announced his choice of Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court Tuesday night, some Democrats vowed to do everything in their power to kill the nomination (even as others calculated the cost of an ultimately losing fight). At the same time, Senate Democrats threw more sand in the gears of the confirmation machinery for Trump nominees. Across Washington, Democrats praised Sally Yates, the Obama holdover and temporary head of the Justice Department fired by Trump after refusing to defend Trump’s temporary moratorium stopping non-Americans from entering the United States from seven terrorism-plagued countries. Democratic members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee sent a letter to the president supporting hundreds of State Department employees who have signed a memo on the Department’s “Dissent Channel” opposing the Trump order.
Across the country, in Washington State, Massachusetts, San Francisco, and elsewhere, Democratic state officials initiated or joined lawsuits to challenge Trump’s executive order. In California, the Democratic Senate leader introduced legislation to make California a sanctuary state — that is, to go beyond sanctuary cities and have an entire state defy federal immigration law under President Trump.
Meanwhile, as protests against Trump’s executive order continued in spots around the country, the recent Democratic vice-presidential candidate urged Americans to “fight in the streets” over the new president’s policies. “What we’ve got to do is fight in Congress, fight in the courts, fight in the streets, fight online, fight at the ballot box,” Sen. Tim Kaine told MSNBC Tuesday.
Finally, as The Resistance organized itself and pushed on multiple fronts, a new supporter spoke up to encourage the protesters — former President Barack Obama, who managed to stay out of his successor’s affairs for all of 11 days.
“President Obama is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country,” a spokesman said Monday. “Citizens exercising their constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake.”
As all that was happening, Democrats took to the media to proclaim a “constitutional crisis” over Trump’s policies.
“We are here tonight because it is a constitutional crisis,” said Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren at a protest outside the Supreme Court Monday night.
“A constitutional crisis,” said Democratic Sen. Cory Booker as he joined demonstrators at Dulles Airport Saturday night.
“A constitutional crisis,” said Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer when he arrived at Dulles Sunday.
At the same time, Democrats attempted to link Trump’s firing of Yates with Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night Massacre” during Watergate.
“A Monday night massacre,” said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer.
“Nixonian,” tweeted Democratic Rep. John Conyers.
“Nixonian,” said Lawrence O’Donnell, the former Democratic Hill aide now on MSNBC.
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