Dem
47
GOP
53
A new CNN poll asking Democrats whether Democrats in Congress were doing enough to resist Donald Trump showed that 22% thought they were doing enough and 73% wanted more resistance. Earlier polls have shown a similar result, but not as extreme as now. Such disgust with the party's leaders may result in members retiring rather than facing the wrath of the voters, and might also result in Democrats being primaried from the left in 2026. It could be the 2010 tea-party election in reverse.
For years, Democratic politicians have called Trump a unique threat to democracy, yet now that he is back in office, they are as quiet as mice. Rank-and-file Democrats don't like that. They want opposition now.
From the viewpoint of the Democratic politicians on the federal level, things look different. Other than the Senate filibuster, they have no power, especially if Trump puts his entire program into one bill passed by the reconciliation process. Going on television to denounce Trump is pointless. Trump couldn't care less. What the Democratic politicians are waiting/hoping for is that Trump overreaches and does something that most voters really dislike, like allowing Elon and the Muskrats to halve the staff at the Social Security Administration, so that payments can't be sent out on time (or at all). Or maybe deleting mifepristone and misoprostol from the database of approved drugs, thus de facto banning medical abortions. Also, Democratic leaders are peppering the courts with lawsuits and there is a chance that Trump will lose a biggie in the Supreme Court and then defy the Court, turning the country against him. But many Democratic voters are impatient with their politicians and don't want to wait for a screw-up. Tension is building. (V)