A tearful Democrat who was accosted by angry voters complained that ‘they hate us’ following a fiery townhall meeting.
The anonymous lawmaker called up a ‘senior House Democrat’ and shared how they had been met with hostility from the party’s supporters, Axios reported.
It comes after Democrat townhalls across the country have been descending into chaos due to anger over House Democrats’ decision to support a Republican spending bill to avoid a government shutdown.
Representatives were met with fury from constituents who berated them for not doing enough to oppose Donald Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has been receiving ire for helping to pass the bill for nothing in return, but voters are taking out their frustrations on his colleagues too.
‘Among the things I got [at a town hall] were: ‘Will you call for Chuck Schumer to resign?” one lawmaker told Axios.
‘Last week I got: “You need to tell your leadership they had no right rebuking Democrats for being strong at”‘ Trump’s speech addressing a joint session of Congress.
‘Another thing I got was: “Democrats are too nice. Nice and civility doesn’t work. Are you prepared for violence?”‘
Democrat voters have turned on their lawmakers after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped pass a GOP spending bill without gaining any concessions
One anonymous lawmaker said he received a tearful phone call from a colleague who sobbed, ‘they hate us’ after a contentious townhall. Pictured: An angry crowd heckling Rep Sean Castern (D-IL)
Meanwhile, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego have been urged to ‘fight dirtier’ against Republicans.
‘We want you to show some of the backbone and strategic brilliance that Mitch McConnell would have in the minority,’ a man told Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey, CNN reported.
In a townhall had to be shutdown by police after hecklers unleashed on Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Brittany Pettersen of Lakewood, Colorado News Online reports.
Similarly the cops had to shutdown an explosive townhall in Downers Grove after Rep Sean Castern (D-IL) was almost overwhelmed by an unruly mob.
The scale of the fury has prompted comparison’s to the GOP’s Tea Party movement, which emerged in 2010 in response to dissatisfaction with Republicans.
‘Any Democratic incumbent who thinks they can rest on their laurels and not show their constituents that they are fighting like hell is making a mistake,’ Rep Jared Huffman told Axios.
‘The level of exasperation is comparable [to the Tea Party] for sure, even if the issues and policies are very different.’
Approval of the Democratic Party has also hit a brutal record low as Democrats are split over how to take on Trump, polling released earlier this week revealed.
Among Americans overall, the Democratic Party’s favorability rating stands at just 29 percent, CNN found.
In some cases, police have had to step in to quell tensions. Pictured: Rep Sean Castern (D-IL) addresses furious voters
The outbursts stem from anger that the Democrats are not doing enough to oppose Donald Trump
The party is experiencing the the lowest favorability it has seen since CNN first started conducting its polling back in 1992.
It is also a 20-point drop in approval since Trump left office more than four years ago at which time approval of the Democratic party was 49 percent.
It is also a ten point drop from just before the November election.
At the same time, a new NBC News poll released Sunday similarly found only 27 percent of voters had a positive view of the Democratic Party. That was the lowest positive rating in NBC News polling history dating back to 1990.
Many Dems fear that the anger could influence the 2026 primaries as irate voters move to oust lawmakers they feel are unequipped to take on Trump.
