President-elect Trump is just days away from moving into the White House, yet several House Democrats are clearly signaling they have no interest in accepting the results of the 2016 election.
Perhaps emboldened by the ethically dubious BuzzFeed dossier dump last Tuesday, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said he doesn’t see Trump as a “legitimate president” and will not attend the inauguration. Meanwhile, Sunday brought varying reports that perhaps two dozen (or more) Democratic lawmakers will also be boycotting.
Holding Trump accountable appears to mean different things to different politicians (especially on the Left), but for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the approach seems to be more literal and useful for the long-term goals of the Democratic Party.
Sanders said claims of Trump being illegitimate are “just words.” Though Sanders can sometimes run into issues of exaggeration when he attaches specific figures to his arguments, he raised one point that should make Democrats think twice about obstructing Trump outright, and make Republicans cautious about marching with him in lockstep.
“Trump, among other things, told the American people he would not cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and right now Republicans in the House and Senate are doing just that. So, I want Trump to send out a tweet saying that he’s going to keep his campaign promises. He’s not going to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” Sanders said.
With this point, Sanders is keying on one of the essential reasons “Never Trump” conservatives have long been skeptical of the president-elect: Trump is neither a partisan nor an ideologue and on more than one occasion before and after the campaign, he’s articulated his more longstanding liberal views.
Though watching the Trump-Putin relationship unfold will be an intriguing subplot during the next four years, the contention that Russian interference directly influenced voters across the country, especially in the Rust Belt, to turn on the Democratic Party is simply an excuse for the sort of inaction that will play right into Trump’s hands in 2018 and possibly 2020.
Democrats are confronting a brutal Senate map in 2018. With the way congressional districts are currently drawn, taking back the House in the midterm cycle would also require a kind of wave, one not likely to be spurred by clinging to conspiracy theories. Sanders’ remarks, on the other hand, may provide an opening.
During the primaries, Trump and Sanders attracted throngs with similarly populist, anti-trade messages. But populism and conservatism are a somewhat incongruous match. It’s in that daylight that Sanders and Democrats may ultimately have an opportunity to win some portion of the white working class back.
If last week’s embrace of speculation and this week’s boycott are any indication, however, they’re off to a slow start.
Tamer Abouras (@iamtamerabouras) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a writer and editor from Williamstown, N.J. Thinking of submitting an op-ed to the Washington Examiner? Be sure to read our guidelines on submissions.
