Democrats Unite! We Have A Coup to Stop

Also, Impeachment Update.

Chuck Schumer Is Not The Enemy

We’re fighting to defeat a coup d’état. Attacking one another is not helpful.

Last week, Washington was all abuzz with heated debate about a possible government shutdown. The timing of this “crisis” was utterly predictable. It’s literally been on the calendar since last September, when Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) set to expire on March 14, 2025.

House Democrats appeared to have given the matter a considerable amount of time and attention during weeks leading up to the pivotal vote in their chamber on March 11. When the moment came, they stood united. Fully prepared to defend their decision, they rallied the party base behind them.

Unlike previous versions of this type of brinkmanship, and despite repeated offers by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to work with Republicans for the good of the American people, the majority party had flat-out refused to negotiate with the minority party on terms of the CR. This produced a resolution with provisions specifically designed to attract the votes of far-right Freedom Caucus members. Both the process and the final contents of the CR left Democrats with little choice but to fiercely oppose it.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Capitol, Democratic leaders in the Senate seem to have been caught entirely unprepared. Rather than work in close concert with Leader Jeffries to deploy a fully developed and well-considered plan, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) began negotiating their differences in public. The result was undeniably an embarrassing display of weakness and indecision. Worse, it fomented a storm of anger from the party’s activist base already impatient with an anemic response by leadership to six weeks of the Trump Administration’s unrelenting assault on our Republic. A call for new leaders to step forward is quickly intensifying.

But the problem faced by Democrats this week is not just at the leadership level. The episode also revealed a glaring weakness among grassroots activist organizers. As is often the case when passionate engagement is driving a social movement, divergent viewpoints come to be seen as unfaithfulness to the cause. Failure to agree with the dominant narrative becomes evidence not of a desire to consider nuance and consequences, but of utter capitulation.

Eager to mobilize a rapidly growing network of opposition groups, the progressive commentariat elevated the ideal of unified resistance above all else. Abandoning any pretense of rational analysis, they seized on Leader Schumer’s muddled messaging to demonize him. Mr. Schumer, and any other Democrat expressing hesitation about the wisdom of completely shutting down the government, were condemned as cowards, capitulators or even traitors. One especially scurrilous attack compared them to Vichy France collaborators, a regime commonly held to be responsible for the deportation and murder of tens of thousand of Jews during WWII. This was just days after Donald Trump had declared Senator Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish member of Congress, to be a disloyal Jew.

The struggle to defeat Donald Trump’s lawless rampage through our national institutions will be long and arduous. We need to build coalitions and make alliances. Truth be told, we even need some Republicans to be on our side. Difficult choices will have to be made all along the way, and certainly no one is above criticism.

However, what we saw last week is not just criticism, it is vicious ostracism. If we allow zealousness to overpower thoughtfulness, we’ll be on a path to self-destruction. The calls for new leadership are well-founded. But for new leadership to emerge, the people's support for them must be steadfast when those hard choices have to be made. We needn’t all agree; but we all do need to be respectful.

Chuck Schumer and Angus King are not the enemy. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are the enemy. As Jesse Jackson used to say, “Keep your eyes on the prize.”

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Impeachment Update

On February 5, Feathers Of Hope began organizing a campaign of persuasion designed to help bring about the Impeachment of President Donald Trump and Vice President James Vance. In a series of three posts, we explained both the rationale for initiating the Impeachment process and the mechanics of how it can be done. Those can be found here:

1) February 5 - Resistance Is Not Enough

2) February 12 - To Stop the Coup, Impeach the Traitor

3) February 18 - Impeachment is Imperative

We’ve encountered some scattered discouragement from a few fellow Progressives who believe that the effort is doomed to failure. But the response from several hundred new members who’ve joined our network since February 5 has been overwhelmingly positive. Not only is there enthusiasm for the idea, but also a willingness to undertake what we know is a difficult (but not impossible) task.

As explained in the posts, before any Impeachment can proceed, a critical mass of nine Republicans in the House must not only decide that it is warranted. They must also help lead a temporary bipartisan alliance dedicated to removing and replacing the top elected officials in their own party.

In ordinary times, such a realignment would be unthinkable. But these are not ordinary times. To the contrary, what we are living through in this moment is extraordinary, and precisely what framers of our Constitution had most feared: the election of a thoroughly corrupt and lawless individual to the Presidency.

It’s for exactly that reason they included Article II, Section 4 (the Impeachment Clause) in the Constitution. Failing to utilize the one provision explicitly intended to remedy the threat we presently face would be a betrayal not only of our founders, but also the millions of patriots who have fought and died to defend our Constitution over two-and-half centuries.

The ground is shifting.

Negative effects of this President’s recklessness are being felt by powerful economic interests, including the pharmaceutical industry, big agriculture, manufacturing, construction, transportation and retail — all major donors to Republican members of Congress. Together with increasing numbers of ordinary citizens angry about threats to their jobs, health care and social welfare programs, pressure will continue to mount for legislators to end this crisis. Only the Legislative Branch has the indisputable power to do so.

Our job right now is to continue reminding potential Republican allies of the Impeachment option. Keep in mind that we’re just laying the groundwork at this time. By demonstrating to nervous politicians that there is growing demand for Impeachment, it will become more viable and easier for them to support.

Below is a list of ten moderate Republican Representatives who are among the most likely to consider joining the effort when the time comes. Contact one or all, as well as your own home district Representative. Also listed are Democratic House leaders whom we’ll need to get the process under way.

Republicans

• Don Bacon: (202) 225-4155 D.C. —— (402) 938-0300 District Office

  • 2104 Rayburn House Office Building —Washington, DC 20515

  • District Office: 3906 Gold Circle, Suite 101 — Omaha, NE 68144

• Brian Fitzpatrick: (202) 225-4276 D.C. —— (215) 579-8102 District Office

  • 271 Canon House Office Building - Washington, DC 20515

  • District Office: 1717 Langhorne Newtown Rd. Suite 225 — Langhorne, PA 19047

• David Joyce: (202) 225-5731 D.C. —— (440) 352-3939 District Office

  • 2065 Rayburn House Office Building -- Washington, DC 20515

  • District Office: 8500 Station Street, Suite 390 — Mentor, OH 44060

• Andrew Garbarino: (202) 225-7896 D.C. —— (631) 541-4225 District

  • 2344 Rayburn House Office Building — Washington, DC 20515 — Fax: (202) 226-2279

  • District Office: 31 Oak St., Suite 20 — Patchogue, NY 11772

• Dan Newhouse: (202) 225-5816 D.C. —— (509) 452-3243 District

  • 504 Cannon House Office Building — Washington, DC 20515 — Fax: (202) 225-3251

  • District Offices: 402 E. Yakima Ave., Suite #1000 — Yakima,WA 98901 Fax: (509) 452-3438 and 3100 George Washington Way #130 — Richland,WA 99354 — (509) 713-7374

• Young Kim (R-CA-40): (202) 225-4111 D.C. —— (714) 984-2440 District

  • 2439 Rayburn House Office Building — Washington, DC 20515

  • District Offices: 180 N. Riverview Dr. Suite 150 — Anaheim, CA 92808 (714) 984-2440 and Mission Viejo City Hall —200 Civic Center — Mission Viejo, CA 92691— (949) 268-6706

• Ashley Hinson: (202) 225-2911 D.C. —— (319) 364-2288 District

  • 1717 Longworth House Office Building - Washington,DC 20515

  • District Office: 118 Third Avenue SE, Suite 206 — Cedar Rapids,IA 52401

• David Valadao: (202) 225-4695 D.C. —— (661) 864-7736 District

  • 2465 Rayburn House Office Building — Washington, DC 20515

  • District Offices: 2700 M Street, Suite 250B — Bakersfield, CA 93301 — Fax: (833) 284-9090 and 107 South Douty Street — Hanford, CA 93230 — (559) 460-6070 Fax: (559) 584-3564

• Mike Lawler: (202) 225-6506 D.C324 - - (845) 201- 2060 District

  • 324 Cannon House Office Building — Washington, DC 20515

  • District Office:: One Blue Hill Plaza, Third Floor, P.O. Box 1645 — Pearl River, NY 10965 and 60 McAlpin Ave. — Mahopac, NY 10541 — (845) 743-7130

• Rob Brenahan: (202) 225-5546 D. C. -- (570) 906-6850 District

  • 1133 Longworth House Office Building --- Washington, DC 20515

  • District Office: 116 North Washington Avenue, Suite 101 — Scranton,PA 18503

Democrats

• Minority Leader: Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), 202-225-5936

• Minority Whip: Katherine Clark (D-MA), 202-225-2836

• Caucus Chair: Pete Aguilar (D-CA), 202-225-3201

• Speaker Emerita: Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), 202-225-4965

Remember, “Keep your eyes on the prize!”

This is a network of ordinary citizens. In a democracy, we exercise our power by raising our voices. To be silent is to be powerless.