海角大神

Panicked Democratic voters are turning on their own leaders

Rep. Glenn Ivey鈥檚 constituents had had it.

At a long, tense town hall Tuesday, voter after voter pushed the Democratic congressman on what more he could be doing to fight President Donald Trump.

They cheered when he became the first congressional Democrat to publicly suggest it was 鈥渢ime for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership鈥� and blasted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer鈥檚 decision to help Republicans avoid a government shutdown. But as he told the crowd that the 2026 midterm elections were the best place to channel their efforts, his constituents begged for a better answer. They wanted to know what he 鈥� and they 鈥� could do now. Many predicted there wouldn鈥檛 be free and fair elections in 2026. One person compared the Democratic Party鈥檚 response to President Trump to Neville Chamberlain鈥檚 appeasement of Adolf Hitler.

鈥淚 am terrified because we are moving very quickly to an authoritarian state,鈥� one constituent said. 鈥淐ongressman, I think you are polite. You are knowledgeable. You are well-spoken. You are everything we need in a congressperson in ordinary times. And we need something for non-ordinary times.... When it comes to fighting these fights we need you to be a little less polite and a little more 鈥榟ell no.鈥欌��

Her remarks drew the loudest applause of the evening.

President Trump鈥檚 November victory initially left the Democratic base demoralized and dispirited. The massive protests that met his 2017 inauguration were nowhere to be found. But lately, a sense of growing panic at what many Democrats see as the destruction of their democracy is spurring a new, desperate energy.

Across the country, Democratic voters who have been reeling from Mr. Trump鈥檚 sweeping and possibly illegal cuts to government, his head-spinning policy moves, and his politicization of federal law enforcement are growing more and more incensed at their own party鈥檚 seemingly feckless response.

There are some parallels between Democrats鈥� current state and the advent of the right-wing tea party at the beginning of President Barack Obama鈥檚 tenure. That movement not only fought the other side tooth and nail but put its own leaders and lawmakers on notice with primary threats. Ultimately, many old-school establishment Republican politicians were forced from office and replaced by a younger, more hard-line generation of leaders that presaged the rise of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

But where the chief animating emotion of the tea party was rage, this new left-wing movement is being fueled more by terror. Democratic voters are increasingly desperate for their leaders to do something 鈥� anything 鈥� before it鈥檚 too late.

The shutdown showdown

A key pivot point came last week when Democratic leaders failed to use their first bit of leverage since Mr. Trump returned to the White House: the threat of a government shutdown. Senator Schumer split with most lawmakers in his own party, and decided the lesser of two evils was to allow Republicans to pass a GOP bill that would keep the government open until September, while forcing the District of Columbia government to slash its own budget, and making it easier for Mr. Trump to move around some government funds.

Many Democrats were furious 鈥� and some called for him to step down from leadership.

鈥淭he vast supermajority of Dems want to see Dems fight back, and a super-supermajority say that they鈥檙e not fighting back hard enough,鈥� says Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin.

Mr. Levin鈥檚 grassroots progressive organization was among the first to call for Mr. Schumer to step aside. When Mr. Ivey endorsed that stance, : 鈥淲e get the party we demand.鈥�

The Democratic Party is currently polling at record-low approval ratings. And it鈥檚 telling which leaders most Democrats say best represent their values in a recent poll: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, two progressive pugilists, were right up there with former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Just as the MAGA movement proved the GOP base鈥檚 rage was less ideological and more fight-focused than many tea party Republican politicians had assumed, this outcry from Democrats spans the political spectrum.

鈥淭he fight going on in the Democratic Party right now is not between hard left, left and moderate. It鈥檚 between those who want to fight and those who want to cave. And Team Fight stretches across all ideological aspects of the Party,鈥� Anne Caprara, the chief of staff to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, recently . 鈥淢isread this at your own peril.鈥�

If current Democratic leaders from Congress down to city hall don鈥檛 meet the moment and find a way to fight back, they may face primary challenges.

Amanda Litman is president of Run for Something, a PAC that helps recruit, train, and support younger progressive candidates for state and local office.

Nearly 32,000 people have contacted the group since Election Day to say they want to run for office, she says, with the past few days seeing their heaviest candidate recruitment since inauguration. Many plan to run against other Democrats they see as too old, too out of touch, too lacking in fight. Ms. Litman said she鈥檚 heard from a half-dozen people who have decided to challenge Democratic members of Congress in primaries.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been building since inauguration and the continuing resolution [shutdown] fight was just a perfect moment to demonstrate how out of touch, in particular, leadership is,鈥� she said.

No good options

Part of the problem is that Democratic officials have few good options when it comes to actually stopping Mr. Trump right now. In an appearance on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭he View,鈥� Senator Schumer argued that there was 鈥渘o exit strategy鈥� if Democrats had forced a shutdown, and that it would only have allowed Mr. Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk to further decimate the federal workforce.

鈥淚 knew that I鈥檇 get a lot of criticism for my choice, but I felt as a leader, I had to do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat would happen if we cut off government spending would be devastation like we have never seen.鈥�

But even Democrats who are sympathetic to Senator Schumer鈥檚 viewpoint said he mishandled the moment politically. House Democrats strongly opposed the GOP plan 鈥� all but one of them voted against it, and swing-district members are already facing GOP attack ads for the vote. Mr. Schumer refused to take a position until the House voted, then initially declared that Senate Republicans didn鈥檛 have the votes, signaling that he would fight the bill. One day later, he reversed course.

Democratic strategist Ray Zaccaro spent well over a decade working in both chambers on Capitol Hill, beginning with an internship in Mr. Schumer鈥檚 office. He says a shutdown would have been 鈥渃atastrophic.鈥� He just wishes Mr. Schumer had tried harder to get something in return for his vote.

鈥淚 can understand the impulse to say 鈥楲et鈥檚 just resolve this right now so that we don鈥檛 hurt people worse than they鈥檙e already going to be hurting,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淒emocrats are stuck in a position where there鈥檚 no good solution. But at least extract something.鈥�

He says Democrats have been 鈥渄umbstruck鈥� by Mr. Trump鈥檚 rapid-fire moves and are struggling to meet the moment. 鈥淲e are watching the erosion of very significant policy and democratic norms slipping through our fingers on a daily basis, and we鈥檙e seeing very little response.鈥�

Democratic voters are practically grabbing their lawmakers by the lapels and shaking them as they demand more leadership.

A district full of federal workers

Mr. Ivey鈥檚 liberal, Black-majority district in Maryland, just outside Washington, has the sixth-highest proportion of federal workers of any in the country. Those workers are already bearing the brunt of the deep cuts pushed by Mr. Trump鈥檚 administration. Many at Mr. Ivey鈥檚 town hall were panicked that they鈥檇 be fired or have their pensions slashed. Most had been through government shutdowns before, where they were furloughed or lost paychecks 鈥� and yet everyone who spoke with the Monitor said they would have chosen another shutdown rather than let Republicans pass their funding bill last week.

Representative Ivey, an even-tempered, urbane lawmaker who spent years working on Capitol Hill, as well as in the Justice Department and local government before winning his congressional seat in 2022, kept his cool through most of the town hall event. His only moment of visible frustration was when he snapped, 鈥淚t鈥檚 my turn鈥� when one person began to talk over him, nearly two hours in.

鈥淚 know everybody鈥檚 angry right now. I鈥檝e got two of my kids 鈥� they鈥檙e getting laid off too right now. So I get it. But the only way we can fix that is to take the House back and hope that the courts keep doing the right thing,鈥� Mr. Ivey said in his closing remarks.

But that didn鈥檛 mollify many in the crowd.

They lined up to grill him for two hours, double the scheduled length of the town hall. There were still people waiting to ask questions when the event concluded.

One woman screamed at the congressman from the balcony and refused to stop. After she was escorted out, another constituent told Mr. Ivey he needed to understand what was driving the woman鈥檚 outburst.

鈥淭hat lady that was irate? That sister is scared,鈥� she said.

Editor鈥檚 note: The spelling of the name of Gov. J.B. Pritzker鈥檚 chief of staff has been corrected. It is Anne Caprara.