Rank-and-file Democrats continue to fill the leadership vacuum against members of the radical left, chiefly Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who they say are guilty of choosing the party line of terrorists in the face of atrocities committed against Israel, with one calling it a "battle for the soul of the party."
The refusal of 15 Democrats to condemn the massacre committed against Israel threatens to tear the Democrat party apart at the seams, a handful of Democrats told The Wall Street Journal. All the while, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., remains silent.
Fifteen progressives either voted against or "present" last week for a resolution condemning Hamas, one of the first things the House did under the direction of new Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., called the 15 Democrats "despicable."
"Last night, 15 of my Democratic colleagues voted AGAINST standing with our ally Israel and condemning Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered, raped, and kidnapped babies, children, men, women, and elderly, including Americans. They are despicable and do not speak for our party," he posted to X.
Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., told The Wall Street Journal he is "incredibly disappointed" that there continue to be holdouts among members of his own party, "who not only haven't been able to condemn the horrific terror attack on Israel, but have celebrated it and called it resistance."
Or progressives who refuse to walk back their comments over events that have proved to be false. Namely, that Israel bombed the hospital in Gaza that allegedly killed 500 Palestinians. Tlaib continues her refusal to retract blame of Israel.
"She spread a claim by Hamas that is not true, that has led to threats to American military personnel and diplomats around the world, and continues to throw gasoline on that fire," Schneider told the Journal. "It's important that all of us call out evil. We may have differences of opinion, but we don't get to have our own facts."
Even Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., himself a progressive, recently sparred with "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., over social media. Omar is another who refuses to call out Hamas' massacre of civilians.
"I do worry that young people are increasingly indoctrinated with an ideology, an anti-Israel hatred, that is so virulent that it renders them indifferent to the coldblooded murder of Israeli civilians and children," Torres told WSJ.
Maryland state Democrat Joe Vogel, running for the open seat to be vacated by Rep. David Trone's Senate run, called it "a battle for the soul of our party."
"It shouldn't be that hard to condemn the murder of innocent women and children and seniors, yet many have either said nothing or equivocated," Vogel told WSJ. "We have a serious problem in our party right now."