Conservative political scientist Norman Ornstein condemned the Trump administration Saturday for its “outrageous” policies he says will “damage lives,” while at the same time he handed Democrats a roadmap as to how they could make a serious dent in President Donald Trump’s plans to consolidate power.
Speaking on MSNBC, Ornstein first painted a picture for why he thought Democrats have struggled to adequately oppose the Trump administration, a characterization supported by the party’s tanking poll numbers.
“What Trump and the Republicans have done so successfully is to flood the zone with scandal after outrage every single day; they all wash over, and most Americans who don't pay close attention don't know about a lot of this stuff,” Ornstein said, visibly frustrated.
“Democrats need to focus. The way to attack flooding the zone is to have a single message each day, and a core message for a week and use every avenue in the Congress and outside to do so.”
Trump’s explosive second term has been fraught with controversy and scandal, a tenure so chaotic that some experts say Americans have become desensitized to some of the administration’s actions. Recognizing this, Ornstein proposed a targeted approach for Democrats, and one he labeled as "extreme."
“I think we need to use impeachment now… impeach RFK Jr.!” Ornstein said. “You can have a privileged resolution on the floor of the House. They can't block it, it supersedes all other work. You get a debate, and we can talk about the outrageous things that this monster is doing to damage lives and end up with people being killed.”
As head of the Department of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. has been under renewed scrutiny this week after the attempted firing of Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and for allegedly asking her to “do something illegal.” The announcement sparked a walkout of hundreds of CDC employees in support of Monarez.
Ornstein also recommended that Democrats not stop there, and wield articles of impeachment far beyond the HHS secretary.
“Do the same thing with (Director of National Intelligence) Tulsi Gabbard, do the same with (Homeland Security Secretary) Kristi Noem,” Ornstein continued. “Every week, find a way to highlight for Americans what they don't know, and to make the Republicans vote to support the outrageous, or do to the right thing. We have lots of tools to use; we're not using them right now.”
Watch the video below or use this link.