Moderate, Red State Democrats Nervous about Impeachment Blowback

Oct. 2, 2019 (EIRNS)—Conservative-leaning Democratic Congressmen, or those residing in “red” states that are heavily pro-Trump, are nervous that they—and the Democratic Party—will be badly hurt by a full-blown impeachment inquiry that could drag on for months. Hanging in the balance, they warn, is Democrats’ ability to maintain a House majority, or make advances in the Senate, especially if they are seen to be ignoring other issues that Americans care about and focus solely on impeachment.

One America News network reports on remarks by Montana’s Democratic Sen. John Tester, who insists that the impeachment inquiry should be very narrowly focused on the Ukraine issue, Trump’s July 25, 2019 phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and nothing else. “They need to make sure it is very, very focused,” Tester said, and they need to move fast.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) emphasized that Democrats should stay away from old issues, such as the Mueller report, collusion, etc. and just stick to the Ukraine issue. And Alabama Democratic Sen. Doug Jones is quoted as saying he thinks the whistleblower complaint is not grounds for impeachment, because it is second-hand, hearsay information. “A lot of the whistleblower complaint is, in fact, hearsay. It is what other people have told him—that is clear on its face.”

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-NJ) has stated openly that he opposes the impeachment drive. Speaking on Fox & Friends on Sept. 29, he said he hadn’t seen any evidence of a true impeachable offense and suggested that Democrats would do well to focus on the country’s problems, such as veterans’ issues, Social Security, Medicare, infrastructure and national debt, rather than focus on impeachment. “Let the people impeach,” said Van Drew. “We are going to have an election very shortly.”