January 26, 2018

Democrats Have a Tom Steyer Problem

His anti-Trump impeachment campaign, while popular with the base, only pushes the party farther to the extremes.

Leftist billionaire Tom Steyer has been spending millions on his relentless anti-Donald Trump impeachment campaign. He and the rabid leftist base have become noisy enough that Democrat leaders are carefully distancing themselves from his cause over fears that his activism will paint them (accurately) as the party of ideological extremists and radicals, especially during this election year. Steyer, however, is having none of it, saying, “We’re just telling the truth to the American people, and it’s an important truth. And if you don’t think it’s politically convenient for you, that’s too bad.”

Democrats find themselves in a pickle. They welcome his cash — he’s already pumped $30 million into efforts to mobilize Millennial voters for midterm elections — but they also know that, sans any new and substantive evidence, continuing to pound the drum for Trump’s impeachment will only alienate moderate Americans who are fed up with the ultra-partisanship in Washington and quite pleased with their 401(k) balance and their tax reform windfall. The problem is that a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows that Steyer’s impeachment mantra is quite popular with the base, with 70% of Democrats in favor. In other words, he’s speaking the base’s language. The question is, just how big is that base?

Steyer may prove to be more of a headache than an asset to Democrat leaders. As the New York Times’ Alexander Burns writes, “While Democrats intend to run on a fiercely anti-Trump message this year, party leaders envision a campaign of broad attacks on the president’s economic agenda rather than a blunt-force impeachment pledge. There is no realistic chance of impeaching Mr. Trump while Republicans control Congress, and Democrats from moderate and conservative districts fear the idea could alienate voters otherwise likely to vote their way in November. But the Democratic base, enraged by Mr. Trump and frustrated by party leaders counseling restraint, appear enthusiastically open to seeking the president’s removal.”

This is the inherent problem when catering to extremists and radicals — a return to the moderate center will only bring condemnation and accusations of selling out. And the Democrats have been appeasing the far Left for so long now, they’ve essentially lost what used to be their solid, relatively sensible base. Now they increasingly find themselves a party of radicals and extremists on the fringes of society. As Ronald Reagan famously quipped, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party; the Democratic Party left me.”

Who We Are

The Patriot Post is a highly acclaimed weekday digest of news analysis, policy and opinion written from the heartland — as opposed to the MSM’s ubiquitous Beltway echo chambers — for grassroots leaders nationwide. More

What We Offer

On the Web

We provide solid conservative perspective on the most important issues, including analysis, opinion columns, headline summaries, memes, cartoons and much more.

Via Email

Choose our full-length Digest or our quick-reading Snapshot for a summary of important news. We also offer Cartoons & Memes on Monday and Alexander’s column on Wednesday.

Our Mission

The Patriot Post is steadfast in our mission to extend the endowment of Liberty to the next generation by advocating for individual rights and responsibilities, supporting the restoration of constitutional limits on government and the judiciary, and promoting free enterprise, national defense and traditional American values. We are a rock-solid conservative touchstone for the expanding ranks of grassroots Americans Patriots from all walks of life. Our mission and operation budgets are not financed by any political or special interest groups, and to protect our editorial integrity, we accept no advertising. We are sustained solely by you. Please support The Patriot Fund today!


The Patriot Post and Patriot Foundation Trust, in keeping with our Military Mission of Service to our uniformed service members and veterans, are proud to support and promote the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society, both the Honoring the Sacrifice and Warrior Freedom Service Dogs aiding wounded veterans, the National Veterans Entrepreneurship Program, the Folds of Honor outreach, and Officer Christian Fellowship, the Air University Foundation, and Naval War College Foundation, and the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

★ PUBLIUS ★

“Our cause is noble; it is the cause of mankind!” —George Washington

Please join us in prayer for our nation — that righteous leaders would rise and prevail and we would be united as Americans. Pray also for the protection of our Military Patriots, Veterans, First Responders, and their families. Please lift up your Patriot team and our mission to support and defend our Republic's Founding Principle of Liberty, that the fires of freedom would be ignited in the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

The Patriot Post is protected speech, as enumerated in the First Amendment and enforced by the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, in accordance with the endowed and unalienable Rights of All Mankind.

Copyright © 2024 The Patriot Post. All Rights Reserved.

The Patriot Post does not support Internet Explorer. We recommend installing the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome.