These five freshman congresswomen changed history by becoming unlikely leaders on impeachment

[IronLionZion]

(CNN)When a group of moderate House freshmen Democrats moved from hard no to hell yes on starting an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, they changed the dynamic for House Democrats, and indeed -- the course of history.

The reason they made their announcement and explained their reasoning as a group, in an op-ed in The Washington Post, is because they had already formed a bond over their national security background -- especially the five women: Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, both ex-CIA officers; Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania who was in the Air Force; Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia were Naval officers.

They met on the 2018 campaign trail as first time candidates who kept bumping into each other at events with mutual donors and supporters.

When they got to talking, these five would-be congresswomen realized that they had a lot in common, despite being from different parts of the country: they all had careers in national security they were trying to parlay into elected office.
They became fast friends, and called themselves the "badasses."

"I think badasses kind of came organically from the group since we all had either served in the military or in the CIA," Houlahan said.
They are now a band of sisters who bonded while storming the unfamiliar terrain of politics.

"Being able to text folks and say, 'you know, I'm really getting hit up on this issue, how have you been handling it?' 'I'm not sure how to translate my service into something that's relatable. How do you guys do that?'" Slotkin said she frequently asked the others.
"We have a lot in common," said Spanberger. "We all were working to flip seats to be elected in places where voters may not typically vote for people like us or with our backgrounds."

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/28/politics/badass-women-impeachment-democrats-oped/index.html

Video at the link. This is why we shouldn't necessarily purge moderates out. #NotAllModerates Moderate Dems generally do the right thing on important party line matters like this, especially these freshman women.

[Cha]

1. That would be insane to "purge moderates"..

they represent "moderate" parts of our Country and no doubt helped us win the Democratic House Victory in 2018.

Without which we wouldn't even be having the Impeachment conversation.

Thank you for this article, IronLionZion..

The reason they made their announcement and explained their reasoning as a group, in an op-ed in The Washington Post, is because they had already formed a bond over their national security background -- especially the five women: Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia, both ex-CIA officers; Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania who was in the Air Force; Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia were Naval officers

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/28/politics/badass-women-impeachment-democrats-oped/index.html

[TwilightZone]

2. Half of Dems identify as moderate or conservative.

A lot of DUers really have no clue what makes up the Democratic party and seem to assume the rest of it is just like they are.

It's becoming more liberal, but it's quite certainly not exclusively liberal. And never has been.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/225074/conservative-lead-ideology-down-single-digits.aspx

[Cha]

6. Exactly, TwilightZone!

It makes me crazy when the importance of our moderate Dems across the Country aren't respected for who they are and what they bring to the party.

It's kind of a big picture outlook

The Blue Wave was mostly won by moderates and Healthcare was an important issue!

The midterm elections cemented Obamacare's legacy and showed Democrats can actually win on healthcare

snip//

With Democrats' victory in the House, Obamacare repeal is dead.

Democrats hold a strong advantage on healthcare and Obamacare looks stronger than ever.

Three deep-red states expanded Medicaid, a key part of Obamacare, via ballot initiatives

More..
https://www.businessinsider.com/2018-midterm-election-results-obamacare-healthcare-big-winner-2018-11

[TwilightZone]

7. Agreed on all that.

The insistence that one size fits all is frustrating, and it still sometimes surprises me that supposedly politically-savvy people continue to make that assertion. All politics are local in the end.

[Cha]

9. Well said! I don't think they're

looking at the whole picture.. they're not helping.

[KPN]

18. It's not becoming more liberal, it's reverting back to its liberal past.

Point of fact, I had always thought of myself as moderate. I still do. I am not a socialist and have never considered myself far left. However, here at DU I have been characterized or accused or labeled as such. In part, it’s a function of having been around for almost 7 decades. But I haven’t, nor have my basic views regarding the role of government, changed. If I am impatient, it is not because I’m radical or far left, it’s because I’m tired of backsliding toward right center and actually right on issues that affect every citizen for 4 straight decades. I am a moderate.

[Blue_true]

3. Blue dogs are from districts that are either slowly or rapidly transitioning to blue.

I view them as a necessary step in the progression. They win seats more liberal candidates have no chance of winning. The best ones change with their districts, becoming more progressive with time. People need to remember that California was once pretty reliable for republicans and a lot of the democrats that came from there were blue dogs, same with Washington State and Oregon. Virginia is a state that used to be reliably red, but is now blue and getting bluer.

[appalachiablue]

10. Impt. reminder about the Republican presence on the West coast,

TY. I was very much aware of the influence, esp. of Reagan in DC for 8 years, what a time.

On the Old Dominion, Virginia, better hurry up turning blue..

[mcar]

4. Let's hope they don't get primaried from the left

They are putting country before their own job security.

[brer cat]

5. +++

Eating our own is not a winning strategy.

[catbyte]

21. Not much danger of that here in MI-8. It's a red-turning-purple district & Elissa Slotkin

won with only 50.6% of the vote to Mike Bishop's 49.4%. Someone to the left of Slotkin wouldn't stand a chance and Michigan Democrats know it. republicans have held that seat since 2001. Our district includes Oakland County, north of Detroit, which is a bastion of the gop.

[mcar]

23. I wish her well in her reelection

She is a true patriot.

[BigmanPigman]

8. They, along with the two congressmen, are the real patriots

in this chapter in history! Whenever I hear any of them discuss what drove them to their final decision it really is a lesson in patriotism.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. +1

[flibbitygiblets]

15. +2

[colsohlibgal]

12. Definition Of Moderate?

Against a more fair tax system, which has been chipped away at since Reagan? Open to more war?

I question trying to entice more moderates, the millennials are an enormous block and skew way more progressive than their parents. They more than anything drove the big mid term democratic gains in Congress. I think we need to excite them.

It is funny most people seem to get more moderate as they age, the opposite has happened with some of us.

[TwilightZone]

13. 35% of Democrats identify as moderate. 13% more identify as conservative.

We probably shouldn't write them all off, unless you believe we can do without half the party.

https://news.gallup.com/poll/225074/conservative-lead-ideology-down-single-digits.aspx

"They more than anything drove the big mid term democratic gains in Congress. "

No, the big mid-term gains were almost entirely because of moderate candidates winning swing districts.

"Moderate Democratic candidates were the big winners of swing congressional districts in the 2018 midterm elections, flipping most of the 28 key House districts from Republicans’ control and winning key gubernatorial races, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Illinois. Democrats’ net gain in the House was 26 seats."

https://www.vox.com/2018/11/7/18071700/progressive-democrats-house-midterm-elections-2018

[pazzyanne]

20. As a DFL member of DU, I couldn't agree more.

I strongly support policies that improve human conditions, but being an older member from the Midwest, I am more conservative than many members here. Does that mean I have no right to be here? Sometimes I wonder when there are comments made by some members. My personal views do not keep me from supporting our candidates, no matter what!

Thank you, TwilightZone!

[IronLionZion]

24. All politics is local

if you don't live in their district, you don't have to vote for them. Most of them flipped suburban seats held by Republicans but became more competitive as demographics changed.

It makes sense for someone like AOC to primary a moderate in NYC, but not in suburban Richmond Virginia. Our efforts are best spent on increasing our numbers in Congress so that long time liberals can have leadership positions. We saw this with Dems taking over the house so Pelosi became speaker again. We need to do that with the Senate and more state legislatures.

[rickyhall]

14. The women are here....finally.

[onetexan]

16. Impressive freshmen women! Talented & intelligent group.

This goes to Reps AOC, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, & Ayanna Presley as well, among others. 2018 brought incredible female power into the halls of Congress. I hope they continue in politics for a long time, continue to fight for us & be great role models for future young women. i'm sure their parents are so proud.

[catbyte]

17. And one of them is mine. So glad we elected Elissa Slotkin in MI-8

[Tarc]

19. Being a moderate is fine, depending on what the specific topic is

I have three extremely bright lines that cannot be crossed; pro-choice, addressing racial disparity (incomer, institutional racism, police brutality, etc...) and LGBT rights.

Environmental issues, spending, taxes, foreign policy, there's wiggle room for compromise and give-and-take, a Dem doesn't have to match my beliefs 100% in those areas, I'll listen to them.

The first 3? Firm and absolute, IMO.

[yuiyoshida]

22. K&R

tweeted

[intheflow]

25. I'm glad they finally got with the program but...

Last edited Mon Sep 30, 2019, 01:45 PM - Edit history (2)

this is a whole heap ‘o whitesplaining. What about the POC who’ve lead this charge way ahead of the curve?

Rep. Al Green filed for impeachment in 2017
Rep. Maxine Waters called for mpeachment in 2017
Rep. Rashida Tlaib called for impeachment in January

But somehow, 5 white women who finally moved to the side of impeachment last week are the ‘leaders.’

*Edited to add link to the original tweet I got this from.

Link to tweet

[SMC22307]

27. Disparage them all you want ("whitesplaining"), but Pelosi moved fast after their op-ed.

The party needs unity, not accusations of racism lurking in every corner. I applaud Green, Waters, and Tlaib for their actions, but Pelosi didn't believe there was enough there. You may not like it, but if impeachment is couched in terms of national security by those who actually served in the military and CIA, "middle America" will likely get on board, as we're seeing in recent polls.

[IronLionZion]

28. Pelosi is a white woman and she's also leading on this issue

I get what you're saying. But the last week was the tipping point where Dems got enough votes to proceed.

There are many articles posted on DU about the gang of 4 and Maxine Waters. I posted this because there wasn't anything posted like it.

[Bettie]

26. Good article, but one comment

with regard to your final comment.

I don't see an effort to purge moderates. Rather, I see an effort to purge liberals from the party by exclusively catering to moderate/conservatives.