The Fear-Based Politics Of Conservative Democrats Who Sold Themselves To The Voters As Fearless Military Heroes

Look at this photo. Does the word "progressive' come to mind?

It isn't just Cisneros, though, I'm using him as the example, other Dems who ran as brave vets and who have turned into amorphous mounds of quivering jello in the face of Trumpists in their districts include Chrissy Houlahan (PA), Jared Golden (ME), Jason Crow (CO), Max Rose (NY), Mikie Sherrill (NJ), and Elaine Luria (VA).

Judging by his sleazy campaign e-mails, everyone who knew that shady New Dem Gil Cisneros was lying last year when he claimed to be for Medicare-For-All, was correct. Now he's for something he calls "universal health care for all," basically nothing-- just a DCCC buzzphrase dodgy candidates can use to say they back private insurance with subsidies and rate hikes... like Status Quo Joe and Kamala. During the primary-- hoping for support from progressives-- Cisneros used to even pretend he was for Bernie, an absurdity.

Cisneros definitely raised his hand for Medicare for All at the NextGen forum during the primary and had his people out there saying he was for it. All during the primary, this so-called "ex"-conservative Republican always worked to blur the lines between himself and the real Democrats and more progressive candidates running in CA-39-- especially Andy Thorburn and Sam Jammal. He even told the Orange County Register he was for Medicare for All: "Janowicz, Cisneros, Jammal and Thorburn back that approach, although all note that it will take time to make such a transition."

As the general election campaign was wrapping up, he didn't seem as enthusiastic about it. The Washington Free Beacon certainly noticed. "Gil Cisneros, a Democrat running for Congress in the traditionally conservative enclave of California’s Orange County," wrote Susan Crabtree at the time, "is backing off his support for single-payer style healthcare reforms in the general election after supporting them during the primary race... During an appearance Tuesday with a local radio show hosted by Larry Mantle, Cisneros downplayed his prior support for a single-payer health care system and Medicare for all."

When he spoke with Think Progress he may have thought their readership was liberal so he didn't fully back away. "For right now," he said, "for me being practical, it’s about protecting what we have. Protecting the Affordable Care Act… Not allowing them to take away [protections for] pre-existing conditions... I think as soon as we get there, we protect the Affordable Care Act, you know, put the individual mandate back in, don’t allow them to take away [protections for] pre-existing conditions, and then we can keep progressing and working towards making sure everybody has Medicare for All."

At this point, Cisneros has been on the wrong side of almost every intra-party battle. He's clearly part of the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, something that was always predictable. ProgressivePunch rates him a solid "F" so far and, let's face it, he's just nothing but a wasted seat in Congress. With the exception of himself and another arch conservative, Lou Correa, the whole Orange County delegation is supporting impeachment. Even Harley Rouda, another "ex"-Republican masquerading as a Democrat, has come around to now backing impeachment for Trump. It is highly doubtful there is a swing voter in Gil's district-- which went heavy for Hillary-- who would vote for a Republican for Congress just because Cisneros were to support impeachment. More likely that voter swings back over taxes or being unimpressed with him, if they would even consider swinging back while Trump is in office. 

Cisneros' problem is that the NRCC is after him in a big way and instead of standing strong for what he campaigned on and what won him his seat, he seems to be doing absolutely everything he can to turn off the Democratic base with his lame, fear-based politics. Georgia Senate candidate Teresa Tomlinson sounds like she was describing Cisneros when she explained a common problem among Democrats today: "It’s fear that cripples the Democratic Party. Fear of our policies, fear of who we are, and fear of the Republicans. Yes, fear is what has politically cost us in the last many election cycles. One cannot lead if one is afraid. The thing about leadership is that people want their leaders to be brave. They care less about what you think on the issues than whether you have the moxie to fight for them and the strength of conviction to tell them what you really think."

And like I said up top, this isn't just about Cisneros. Brave right-of-center veterans who are using Republican talking points today-- Chrissy Houlahan, Jared Golden, Jason Crow, Max Rose, Mikie Sherrill, and Elaine Luria-- should all think about this before it's too late. No one likes the smell of fear. And speaking of the stink of fear...