Two House Democrats Swing Districts Split on Removal: NPR

New Jersey Democrat Tom Malinowski spent some time during the Memorial Day holidays being burned by some of his most outspoken voters: the sixth grade students at Warren Middle School.

Early students questioned him about the fate of Uyghurs in China, the high level of taxes in the state and his views on the rights of homosexuals. Then, Bodhi Lee, 11, got up to ask a question.

"I wanted to ask you a question about how Donald Trump conducted himself and do you think he's committed an impenetrable foul?" he asked the congressman for the 7th district.

The Democrats took control of the House of Representatives at the mid-term in 2018 because countries such as the 3rd and 7th districts of New Jersey have gone from red to blue, but marginally.

Voters supported the Democrats in both places, but the two new students they sent to Washington are divided on whether the time has come for the removal.

"I asked the question because I felt we needed to know exactly what [politicians] think of the president … I think that [Trump] Lee said, "He's done some really inappropriate things that all the presidents have not done and that really should not happen, he's abusing his power."

Lee's congressman is Malinowski, a former state department official and currently the only Democrat in a dynamic district to support the opening of a dismissal investigation by the president.

"Voters here want me to fight for their interests and that means transportation that means a reduction in the cost of health care," he told NPR. "But voters also tell me a lot of decency, balance of power, rule of law – making sure we do not pass by a cliff as to the conduct we allow." to our leaders. "

In taking this position, the first-appointed congressman exposes himself to political problems. Al Gaburo, president of the Somerset County Republicans, immediately seized the Malinowski removal post.

"Tom Malinowski is not only out of step with most voters in the 7th congressional district, I think he's too liberal for this district," Gaburo said. "We send representatives to Congress to represent the people (…) so as not to be a cheerleader for the dismissal or a chief protester."

But he almost reluctantly respected Malinowski's willingness to take risky positions, despite the fact that he felt the Democrat was wrong politically and fundamentally.

"What I applaud is that … when he talks about impeachment, I mean, he's honest about what he thinks of impeachment," Gaburo said.

Democratic leaders are under increasing pressure as lawmakers have returned to the capital after a week-long break – nearly 60 Democrats in the House have now called for dismissal.

Members like Malinowski are in the minority, according to national polls. In a new CNN survey, 54% of Americans said they opposed the impeachment, while 41% supported it.

Penelope Malakates is a democrat and supports the dismissal. But at a dinner in Malinowski District, she told NPR that she did not think the average voter had enough bandwidth to worry about it.

"I have two little children. And I thought about going back to work and finding the price prohibitive. I know that many other people are in the same boat. Childcare, education: what makes real life work, "she said." I think presidential politics, the Supreme Court and all that kind of stuff are also very important. But I do not think the average person on a daily basis can handle the stress of what it means to think about these huge problems all the time. "

James Martin, a resident of Berkeley Heights, supports Malinowski – but not on this issue.

"I do not believe in dismissal, I do not think it's the right process, myself," he said. "What I'm dealing with are elderly parents, elderly parents whom we take care of.I do not have nearly as much time to worry about this.It takes energy for s & d. To worry about some things … unless it really affects us personally, I can not worry about everything else. "

Andy Kim, another young Democratic student from New Jersey, whose third parliamentary district is in south-central state, won his seat by less than 4,000 votes in 2018.

He does not approve the impeachment procedure and told NPR that he was rarely questioned about it by his constituents. In a recent city hall, it has not been raised at all, he said. During the break, he went to a Veterans Affairs facility in New Jersey where he exchanged ideas with officials on how to get health care that veterinarians need.

"Regarding the problems that are taking place in Washington DC, I think a lot of people are so skeptical about what's going on there, and so tired of politics as usual and the political brawl with a partisan knife, "said Kim, pointing out that he had been sworn in amid a government closure.

In Kim District, voters told NPR that they feared that the dismissal would distract attention from more pressing issues.

"If I go back to the Clinton era where we focused throughout the impeachment process, I think we've forgotten some of the signs of what would become September 11," said Barbara Petriello, who lives in Brick. She identifies as an independent democrat.

"So I'm afraid we're putting as much emphasis on the impeachment as on the safety and the issues that are really much more important to the people sitting around the kitchen table, you know, their paychecks, their health care, their children good education, university loans – this stuff ".

Stephen Brill, another Brick resident, was sitting in front of a meeting of the city's city council and said he supported investigations into the president and the Trump administration's responsibility – but not dismissal.

"I do not think the time is right because I do not think they have enough information," he said.

Brill said that he was more concerned about the trade war with China and the personal problem that he had to settle before the city council: put pressure on his local officials for them to place a noise barrier between the Garden State Parkway and his property, effort that he spent seven years trying to get support from local politicians.

So, while the conversations in the Capitol are centered on the opportunity to begin the dismissal; voters from a few competitive districts that have given the Democrats a majority call for a bit of braking.

With more members publishing their positions and senior leaders weighing their next steps, the approaches of Malinowski and Kim reflect the split within the Democratic caucus as it struggles with this issue.