Creating dissension within the ranks of the Democrat Party, the so-called Quad-Squad of freshman women representatives of color, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez (D-N.Y.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D—Minn), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass) pushed back against 79-year-old House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) dismissing the group as just “four votes.” But instead of falling into line the Quad-Squad rebelled more loudly, telling Pelosi they won’t be silenced or conform to centrist Democrats’ expectations. Since the 2020 presidential election began, Pelosi has battled the Quad-Squad representing today’s the hard-left of the Democrat Party, seeking, without compromise, impeachment of 73-year-old President Donald Trump, largely based on their animus toward the president but not really on any sound legal facts related to high-crimes-and-misdemeanors.
Pelosi’s been having a harder time containing the Quad-Squad who seeks nothing less that Trump’s impeachment. Despite the 22-month long Mueller investigation that essentially cleared Trump of criminal wrongdoing on Russian collusion, the Quad-Squad sees Trump as a racist who must be terminated from office. Pelosi said she’d let the fact take her wherever they go, acknowledging the Mueller’s March 22 Final Report could not find criminal wrongdoing on collusion or obstruction of justice. Pelosi believes that messy impeachment hearings would backfire on Democrats in 2020, much like they did on Republicans when they impeached former President Bill Clinton in 1998. All freshman House members despise Trump so badly they’d sacrifice the 2020 election to humiliate him with impeachment. Quad-Squad reps have no reason to stop pushing their left-wing agenda even where it hurts their chances in the general election.
Speaking at the Netroots conference in New Orleans, the Quad-Squad refused to back down off their demands to impeach Trump and open up U.S. borders. “We never need to ask for permission or wait for an invitation to lead,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who was publicly rebuked by Pelosi March 4, for making disparaging remarks against Jews. Omar’s a Somali immigrant, whose marriage to her brother to gain immigration status in the U.S. raised eyebrows. Saying there’s a “constant struggle oftentimes with people who have power about sharing that power,” Omar rejects Pelosi’s remarks that the Quad-Squad only amounted to “four votes” in a chamber of 435 representatives. “I thinking you have to be unapologetically you,” Talib said. “Sometimes that means—I know for me and number of my sisters, we represent our districts and to bring them into this space.”
Quoted in the New York Times, Pelosi rebuked the Quad-Squad for not allowing her leadership to set the Democrat agenda. “They’re four people, and that’s how many votes they got,” Pelosi said, drawing criticism from the Quad-Squad. “And that does sometimes—that does mean I have to vote no on detaining children at the border,” Tlsib said, backing open borders, shaming Trump for his border detention policies. Tlaib, Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Pressley, all want open borders to deal with Trump’s detention policies. “The women of color who have entered Congress, they’re more than four votes,” said Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, moderator at the Netroots conference. “For millions of us, these women of color in Congress represent generations of blood, sweat and tears and struggle,” making Pelosi, a hugely progressive Democrat, look like she’s as racist as Trump.
Tlaib wins plaudits from the hard left insisting on impeaching Trump. “We’re going to impeach the MF-er,” Tlaib said. “Don’t worry,” directly challenging Pelosi’s power, who’s said there must be facts to proceed with impeachment hearings. For Democrats like Talib, they’ve drawn their own legal conclusions about the Muller report, preferring to stretch the findings to their liking. It’s not enough for Talib to accuse Trump of obstruction of justice, just because Mueller said he could not exonerate Trump of criminal wrongdoing. Nor could Mueller make a case beyond-a-reasonable-doubt that Trump committed any crimes related to Russian collusion or obstruction of justice. Pelosi wants to follow the facts not the passions of a precious few that have let their emotions get out of control. Pelosi asked the Quad-Squad to let 2020 election play out to get Trump out of office at the ballot box.
Pelosi finds herself caught between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place placating freshman female House activists, like Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar and Pressley, all of whom want to call the shots or set the Democrat Party agenda. Bolstered by left-wing organizations, the Quad-Squad can’t see-the-forest-before-the-trees, not realizing that impeachment could backfire with independent white voters. “With ICE raids occurring this weekend, deaths of children at the border camps, and a continue blank check for the administration racist deportation machine, we will be focusing on the real crisis at hand and we urge Democratic leadership to do so as well,” said Democrat activists. Democrats have exposed their strategy of accusing Trump of racism. Anti-Trump Activists like Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib, Omar and Pressley don’t care about the facts, they want to impose their hard-left agenda on the Democrat Party.
