Rep. Rashida Tlaib had been in Congress for a matter of hours when she was seen on video telling supporters that she and other Democrats were going to impeach President Donald Trump, using an expletive rather than Trump’s name. The room full of activists cheered, but some people back home – and in Democratic leadership – were not pleased. It wasn’t the last time Tlaib’s approach to governing — an unapologetic fighter, taking aim at the status quo alongside three other first-term congresswomen of color who make up “the squad” — would make her a target, both of the GOP and her own party. And every time, Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones says, agitated constituents would call and encourage her to challenge her fellow Michigan Democrat to a rematch of their 2018 battle for the party’s congressional nomination. Now Tlaib is the squad’s most vulnerable member, as she and Jones are set to square off again in Michigan’s Aug. 4 primary. The contest points to the broader debate in the Democratic Party between the establishment and largely younger, more progressive activists, as well as the racial dynamics of a heavily Democratic Detroit-area district at a time when racial injustices are getting renewed attention. To Jones, it all boils down to one thing for a district that is among the country’s poorest: who can “bring home the bacon.” “There are things that I might feel, but I just don’t say in public and an example is ‘impeach the (expletive removed)’ on the very first day,” said Jones, 60. “Not to say you’re going to always agree, but you have to be able to work with those people because you never know who you’re going to need in order to get things done that need to be done.” The two candidates have a history. In 2018, Jones finished a close second to Tlaib in a six-person primary for the seat long held by Democratic Rep. John Conyers, who stepped down amid sexual harassment allegations. But Jones defeated Tlaib in a two-person special election to finish the final weeks of Conyers’ term — which she did, spending five weeks in Washington before Tlaib was sworn in for the full term in January. Tlaib says that she has legislated exactly the way she promised and that she’s gotten results by pushing back against those who are too cozy with corporations and big developers. She notes that Trump signed into law a bill she sponsored to protect retirees’ pension benefits — even if she didn’t get invited to the White House for the signing — and that she’s gotten amendments approved with bipartisan support, including a measure that provides billions to replace lead pipes and prioritizes low-income communities. “I’m pretty tenacious and it’s resulting in actual things getting done,” Tlaib said. “It’s not just about me as a person, but all of the various social justice issues that I’ve been standing up for for the last year and a half that have not been popular among the wealthy.” The only other member of the squad still facing a primary challenge is Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose top challenger on Aug. 11 is a political newcomer who raised millions more than the incumbent congresswoman last quarter. Some of Antone Melton-Meaux’s donations came from pro-Israel groups […]
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