Democrat Voters: Leaders Must Act With More Urgency

Democrat voters at rallies around the country say their leaders need to act with a greater sense of urgency, reports The Washington Post.

"I think it's safe to say that many of our faith in the party has never been lower," 28-year-old Democrat Josh Siegel told Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., at a town hall in the district of Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., on Sunday.

"I want them to know that if they stand up, we'll stand with them," Valerie Hicks, a retired social worker who recently attended a rally held by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in Las Vegas, told the Post.

"You won't be out there on a cliff — and maybe you are, but sometimes the cliff is where you have to be."

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have held "Fighting Oligarchy" rallies to "have real discussions across America on how we move forward to take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country."

Democrats have become increasingly frustrated with their inability to stop President Donald Trump's Cabinet confirmations and mass firings of federal workers.

At a news conference a couple of weeks ago, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries repeatedly refused to say whether he has confidence in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — a rare break for the two longtime New York Democrat colleagues.

Schumer postponed several scheduled events to promote his book after some liberal groups planned to stage protests over his vote to move forward with Republican spending legislation.

Mike Arnold, a 74-year-old Air Force veteran from California, said he attended a Khanna event in Norco because he "got tired of screaming at the TV."

"The courts might not hold. And if the courts don't hold, the only next thing is the military itself," said Arnold. Democrat leaders, Arnold said, "have to be much more aggressive than they have been."

"We are playing by the old rules, and they don't abide by those," he said of Trump and his allies. "It's nice to be polite, and God knows we don't want to fracture the country any more than it already is. But what is happening cannot stand."

Brenda Balsiger, 69, said she attended Republican Rep. Young Kim's event in Anaheim, California, because "it's pathetic, what's happening in our country right now."

"I want new leadership. I want Chuck Schumer out," she said. She also told the Post she's a big fan of Ocasio-Cortez.

"I don't think she's as polarizing as she used to be. She speaks her mind. She's young, and we just blew it on the messaging. We weren't listening out in the communities" in 2024.

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