Liberal groups staged protests outside the White House Wednesday following President Trump’s widely criticized appearance alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging voters to go to the polls in November if they want to hold him accountable.
But instead of increasing impeachment drumbeat, outside Democratic groups have primarily stuck to their talking points: Trump is corrupt, the GOP voted to repeal Obamacare, immigrant children are still being detained, and the president is too cozy with Russia.
[Related: Trump’s Helsinki comments test Democrats’ patience on impeachment]
Only a handful of candidates and a few sitting House Democrats called for impeachment. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H., urged Trump to resign, and Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, one of the loudest impeachment advocates in the House, tweeted #Impeachmentisnotdead.
On Wednesday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., called on Congress to “relieve the President of his duties.” But the majority of House Democrats saw Trump’s “cowering” next to Putin and his attacks on the U.S. intelligence community as an opening to talk about the Republican president’s friendliness with Russia.
“If we’re in the majority, we’ll probably be more effective,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after Trump’s Helsinki meeting with Putin. “And you’d see a lot stronger things protecting American security than you will with this majority, which seems so afraid of President Trump.”
And outside groups used the growing outrage to push voters to sign-up for a newly-launched initiative dubbed “The Last Weekend.” The effort, organized by 20 of the largest progressive groups across the country, asks voters to pledge to be volunteers on the last weekend before the November election, to build an effective get-out-the-vote machine.
Providing an outlet for voters frustrated by Trump’s press conference with Putin, groups including MoveOn, CredoAction, Indivisible, and Greenpeace, organized vigils across the country Wednesday to “confront corruption” and “demand democracy.” The vigils were planned ahead of Trump’s Helsinki visit but were organized in response to Trump casting doubt on Russian electoral interference. The number of organized vigils doubled the day after Trump’s appearance with Putin.
Two events, one team. Come to confront corruption and stay for the 13 member mariachi band. See you all at the White House tonight! pic.twitter.com/R8L7NXPdyk
— Adam Parkhomenko (@AdamParkhomenko) July 18, 2018
Rather than turn into a rallying cry for impeachment, leaders of liberal organizations like MoveOn advised the Democratic base to remind voters of the bread and butter policy issues that are more likely to turnout disaffected Republicans or first-time voters.
“If you want to hold Trump accountable for siding with Russia, plan to spend your nights and weekends the next few months knocking on doors and reminding voters about the GOP health care repeal,” tweeted Ben Wikler, director of MoveOn.
The one group consistently committed to the impeachment cause is billionaire Tom Steyer’s Need to Impeach. Steyer again called for impeachment after Helsinki, saying it “fully meets the criteria,” but his group hasn’t announced any actions or advertising it may launch in response to Trump’s actions.
Most liberal groups have refrained from engaging in the impeachment discussion. Anti-Trump group Indivisible declined to comment, as did SwingLeft — both organizations are involved in The Last Weekend effort.
Justice Democrats has backed a number of liberal candidates against those backed by the Democratic establishment in an effort to push the party to embrace bold progressive ideas, but the super PAC isn’t getting caught up in the impeachment movement.
“No one is above the law and the president should be held accountable at every turn,” said Nasim Thompson of Justice Democrats, “but I think what we need to be careful of is flipping into an anti-Trump narrative as the leading narrative.”
