Representative Abigail Spanberger had one of the many surprise victories in 2018, unseating popular Congressman Dave Brat in his third run in Virginia’s 7th District. But her future is in question in her swing district after changing from “no” to “yes” on impeachment of President Trump, a status that was evident in her town hall meeting last night.
Impeachment is increasingly unpopular in swing districts, especially in areas such as Virginia’s 7th District which favored President Trump over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Spanberger’s 2018 victory required votes from Independents and Republicans who were ready for a change, but many of them still support the President. By voting in favor of impeachment, Spanberger has jeopardized her popularity after less than a year in office. Even CNN had to capitulate that the spectacle last night was concerning.
Virginia Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger faces heat at town hall over impeachment
“My opinion of our inquiry is mine and mine alone. No one has pressured me to vote in any particular way from within the party. And I will not be pressured to vote in any particular way,” she said. “The allegations against the President are incredibly, incredibly serious.”
“They’re bulls***,” one attendee said as another shouted that “it’s crap.”
“It’s a lie, it’s all a lie,” an attendee said, a remark Spanberger responded to by highlighting the various House hearings held as part of the inquiry.
“Those witnesses have all affirmed and all agreed on what happened,” she said. “That the President sought to use military assistance … as leverage to get a foreign government to do what he wanted.”
“It’s all lies, it’s all lies,” an attendee yelled, cutting off the congresswoman, who is visibly frustrated with the crosstalk.
Some may say she’s appealing to her left-leaning constituents rather than simply betraying her right-leaning ones, but even among left-leaning Democrats and Independents the appetite for impeachment is waning. House Democrats didn’t make their case, which is evident from their continuous moving of the goalpost about what constitutes impeachable offenses. Despite the incessant drumbeat of mainstream media supporting impeachment, the people are growing tired of what is being seen as a clearly partisan and vindictive replay of the 2016 election. And some Democrats are starting to speak out.
It’s imperative that everyone in swing districts who opposes impeachment tell their representatives how they feel. Whether you’re a Trump supporter or even a Trump detractor who sees through the partisan play that even Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi once called “a path that divides the country,” it’s clear that this is not what the founders intended when they gave Congress the power to impeach. More importantly, it’s not a healthy way to solve the problems the nation faces. The two major parties need to be working together, not leveraging power to spite the other.
Spanberger needs to think long and hard about her future. The only thing that has changed since her initial stance against impeachment is that House Democrats have pressured their members to promote the innuendos, presumptions, and outright lies of the witnesses who testified at the impeachment hearings. Impeachment’s popularity is sinking because the people aren’t as stupid as Democratic leadership thinks we are. We’re smart enough to realize they didn’t offer a shred of proof nor any first-hand accounts of the alleged bribery they’re trying to pin on the President.
The last thing this country needs is “moderate” politicians like Abigail Spanberger in swing districts voting against the facts and in favor of presumptions pushed by her party’s leadership. She’s being pressured. She just won’t admit it.
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