Home means Nevada, but it appears that the Democrats in the Silver State’s congressional delegation feel more comfortable wallowing in the Beltway swamp than representing the good people who elected them.
Nevada voters are only a few months removed from an election during which Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford, along with Sen. Jacky Rosen, assured their constituents that they were committed to cooperation and bipartisanship. It was a recurring theme.
Yet now safely returned to office, they’ve fallen complacently in line with the Democratic leadership, taking their marching orders from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rather than exercising even a modicum of independence. Last week was a particularly disgraceful example.
On Monday, Sen. Rosen and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto sided with progressive extremists over common sense, voting with all other Democrats in the upper chamber to kill a proposal to ban transgender females — biological males — from competing in women’s sports. This issue has nothing to do with treating all people compassionately. It’s about reality and protecting women’s sports from biological male competitors who enjoy obvious physical advantages, regardless of medical treatments. The vast majority of Nevadans understand and support this, but Sens. Rosen and Cortez Masto care little about those they represent.
In January, Nevada’s three congressional Democrats also showed they remain firmly on the leash when they ignored their constituents and fell meekly in line, voting against a similar bill in the House. Reps. Lee, Titus and Horsford then attempted to justify this unpopular stance by making the ludicrous claim that the legislation could lead to female athletes being forced to undergo genital exams from strangers. Yet they have no concern about teenage girls being forced to share locker rooms with biological boys.
The follies continued during and after President Donald Trump’s Tuesday address to Congress. Democrats sat largely stone-faced in the audience. After one of their own, Rep. Al Green of Texas, was ejected for disrupting the proceedings, several progressive House members held up bingo placards with sophomoric slogans critical of the president. When Mr. Trump recognized a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor, Democrats refused to stand or applaud. This disgrace was repeated when the president singled out an American who had been held prisoner in Russia, the mother and sister of a girl murdered by an illegal immigrant, and the mother of a 12-year-old killed by suspected Venezuelan illegal migrants.
No matter how one feels about Mr. Trump, the refusal of Democrats to acknowledge the struggles and tribulations of hostages, crime victims and cancer patients was nothing short of shameful. Where’s the common decency? It’s hard to stake out the high road when you’re sloshing around in the gutter.
On Thursday, the House voted to censure Rep. Green for his antics. Ten Democrats joined Republicans to approve the measure. Reps. Titus, Lee and Horsford were not among them. Rep. Lee also hooked up with a handful of her radical colleagues to make a cringy TikTok video showing them imitating video game characters and jumping up and down before assuming a fighting position, presumably in opposition to Mr. Trump. One liberal commentator bemoaned that the video “invited ridicule.”
Polls show Democrats with record low approval ratings — and the events of the past week highlight their problem. Political opposition requires more than just mewling, puking and petulance. Those representing Nevada have stayed mute, while wiser Democrats have recognized the issue. “We have to get away from performative actions of fighting back and providing our constituents with the answers,” Rep. Gabe Vasquez, Democrat of New Mexico, told The Wall Street Journal. Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., said, “No matter how bad the headliner, nobody goes to a play to see the hecklers.”
The Democrats in Nevada’s delegation made clear this week where their allegiances lie — and they aren’t with the people they ostensibly represent. Nevada voters will have the chance to address the situation in the next election.
