Kulturkampf

[benji]

For months, Democratic lawmakers have fumed that their base's demands to "fight harder" misunderstand the lack of legislative and investigative power afforded to the minority party in Congress.

"We've got people who are desperately wanting us to do something ... no matter what we say, they want [more]," said Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), the chair of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, told Axios.

Liberal voters have angrily accosted Democrats at town halls for — in their view — not doing enough to counter President Trump's agenda.

...

"Some of them have suggested ... what we really need to do is be willing to get shot" when visiting ICE facilities or federal agencies, a third House Democrat told Axios.

"Our own base is telling us that what we're doing is not good enough ... [that] there needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public," the lawmaker said.

A fourth House Democrat said constituents have told them "civility isn't working" and to prepare for "violence ... to fight to protect our democracy."

A fifth House Democrat told Axios that "people online have sent me crazy s*** ... told me to storm the White House and stuff like that,"

...

While other Democratic lawmakers said their discussions haven't gone that far, nearly every one who spoke to Axios cited examples of voters' panic and fury fueling demands to adopt brute force tactics.

A sixth House Democrat said that when they try to persuade voters to channel their frustration into a focus on winning back Congress in 2026, "people who are angry don't accept that. They're angry beyond things."

...

Many lawmakers said these voters tend to be white, well-educated and live in upscale suburban or urban neighborhoods.

"What I have seen is a demand that we get ourselves arrested intentionally or allow ourselves to be victims of violence, and ... a lot of times that's coming from economically very secure white people," said an eighth House Democrat.

...

"The expectations aren't just unreal. They're dangerous," the eighth House Democrat said.

A ninth lawmaker told Axios: "I actually said in a meeting, 'When they light a fire, my thought is to grab an extinguisher,'" a ninth House Democrat told Axios.

"And someone at the table said, 'Have you tried gasoline?'"