Daily KOS | Still Think Democrats Aren’t Fighting Back? Introducing Marilyn Strickland.
During his record smashing 25 hour speech, Cory Booker asserted at one point that, “it’s not about right or left, it’s about right and wrong”. As I’ve read through criticisms of the Democratic Party over the past six months, and they are plentiful on this site, I’ve seen an awful lot of references to “centrists” having these negative characteristics and progressives demonstrating these virtues. The reverse has also been promoted, although to a lesser extent.
My view has always been that the reservoir of resolution each elected Democrat possesses has very little to do with one’s place on the ideological spectrum.
Take the CR vote as an example, for which Schumer especially has been pilloried on this site. Some of those who joined him in voting for cloture are certainly from the centrist wing of the Party and sport moderate voting records — including Angus King and Jeanne Shaheen. But others with similar ratings — like Mark Warner and Micheal Bennet — voted against it. Similarly, Brian Schatz and Kirsten Gillibrand have long had very progressive voting records but voted to support cloture.
For that matter, some of the angriest House members after the senate vote were from the the centrist wing of the party.
The point is that you can’t predict the intensity of one’s opposition to Trump based solely on the person’s perceived progressivism.
Which brings me to the Democrat I’ve chosen to highlight today. Marilyn Strickland represents Washington’s 10th District in the House. She was first elected to the House in 2020. Prior to that she served eight years as mayor of Tacoma from 2010 to 2018. After leaving the mayoralty, she worked for two years for the Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
Prior to entering politics, Representative Strickland earned an MBA and worked at Starbucks. She also helped develop the City of Tacoma’s public broadband cable service, called Click!.
She currently serves on the Infrastructure and Armed Services Committees in the House. She is a member of the CBC and acts as whip for the New Democrat Caucus. Her voting record is that of a middle of the road Democrat.
So how is she standing up to Trump? Let’s look.
First, as any legislator should, she is creating legislation in order to provide guardrails to the Trump administration’s extremism. She understands, as Shontel Brown (who I wrote about on Monday) does, that being a member of the House means not just giving speeches but also means introducing legislation differentiating Democrats from Republicans.
One of these that she introduced is the Equity Act. This legislation was introduced after Trump issued an EO banning transgender people from serving in the military.
She has been a strong advocate for reproductive rights, introducing in 2024 the Reproductive Health Travel Fund Act. This act allowed the Treasury Department to,
“award grants to nonprofit or community-based organizations to provide assistance to those seeking abortions with round-trip travel, lodging, meals, and other travel-related expenses. Priority must be given to organizations that serve individuals who are in jurisdictions that have banned or severely restricted abortion access or who travel to another jurisdiction for an abortion, or organizations that have or plan to have programs in place that help individuals access abortion services.”
She is a harsh critic of Elon Musk, and the Republicans in the House who have failed to provide any oversight into his activities.
Further, she has strongly condemned the Republican SAVE act, an act that will make it more difficult for married women to register to vote.
As with many of the Democrats who I highlight in these diaries, Marilyn Strickland is highly visible in her state, including holding town halls and meeting with local groups such as the Black Collective. As a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, she has been forceful in promoting civil rights and fighting against the Republican’s anti-DEI lies.
What I especially appreciate in Ms. Strickland is the consistency of her attacks on Republicans. Her message is a simple one; Republicans don’t care about you. She repeats it in all her interviews and often on her social media posts.
Finally, my favourite Marilyn Strickland moment. It occurred while she appeared on a CNN panel that included reprehensible Republican douchenozzle Scott Jennings. When he tried to interrupt her, which he consistently does on these panels, she shut him down perfectly.
I thought Ricky Davila described the moment perfectly.
Marilyn Strickland is responding forcefully to the Trump regime, repeating her clear and concise message that neither Trump nor Republicans “care about you”. It is a simple message to convey, and accurately sums up the activities of this corrupt and callous administration.
The reason I write these diaries, and focus in more depth on individual Congressional Democrats, is to show readers on this site the incredible work being done. It is easy to tear down. It is easy to give in to anger and despair. But there is a choice. Party supporters can wallow in cynicism and defeatism, or they can choose to support and amplify the vast majority of Democrats, largely unheralded and less well known, who like Marilyn Strickland are meeting the moment with strength and resolve every day.
If you want even more information on how Democrats are attacking this illegal and corrupt administration, go seek out Janesaunt’s diaries “Dems Dems and More Dems”, which is published three times a week, and lpeacocks Thursday diaries on the Congressional Black Caucus.