On Venezuela, Democrats Are Actually Acting Like an Opposition Party
Ruben Gallego often embodies the worst tendencies of Democrats. In one of his first acts as a U.S. senator, the Arizonan endorsed the Trump-backed Laken Riley Act, which makes it easier for the government to detain undocumented immigrants if they are accused (but not yet convicted) of fairly minor crimes. Having the newly elected Latino from a key swing state back that terrible legislation opened the floodgates for other Democrats to support it and virtually ensured its passage. In his public comments, Gallego constantly suggests fellow Democrats are too liberal and out of touch with regular Americans—doing the Republicans’ work for them.
But over the last week, Gallego has been a voice of moral clarity. The former Marine blasted President Trump’s decision to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro almost immediately after it happened and hasn’t let up, using blunt words like “dumb” and “idiots” when referring to administration officials. And he’s not alone. Center-left Democrats who sometimes diss the party’s left or try to tout their bipartisan credentials, such as Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Kelly and Representative Seth Moulton, are also loudly condemning the administration’s policy in Venezuela and demanding that the administration not invade Greenland or any other nation.
The Democratic Party is unified in opposing Trump’s invasion of Venezuela. That’s a sign of two important and positive developments. The party isn’t as scared as it used to be of being portrayed by Republicans as “soft” on national security. And congressional Democrats,........
