ANOTHER OPTION YOU COULD HAVE EXERCISED WAS SHUTTING THE FUCK UP

Two members of the House who are hoping to win statewide elections next year are introducing bills clearly meant to impress voters in the tough primaries they're facing. Guess which of these House members is being fragged by members of her own party? I'll give you a hint: One is a Democrat and one is a Republican.

The Republican is Nancy Mace, who wants to be governor of South Carolina and appears to be in a tough fight for the Republican nomination. She went to Fox News (of course) to announce her bill:

A new bill could see part of the national capital renamed after slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, introduced three months after his assassination.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is introducing legislation to rename the area that until recently had been known as Black Lives Matter Plaza, she first told Fox News Digital.

"Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization that wants to defund the police and take your speech away," Mace argued. "And what I want to do on the three-month anniversary of Charlie Kirk's political assassination is celebrate him and the First Amendment and freedom of speech by renaming the plaza after him."

(Yes, she signed on to the Jeffrey Epstein discharge petition when most Republicans wouldn't, but "Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization"? Seriously? I think we can all put away our "Nancy Mace, Welcome to the Resistance" signs.)

Mace is one of four candidates who appear to be in contention for the gubernatorial nomination, yet I don't see any of the others questioning her decision to do this. Nor do I see any fellow House members attacking her, even though they'd have a point if they said their caucus has more important things to think about right now, like the looming crisis in healthcare affordability, which at least a handful of Republicans would like to address.

But, of course, praising Charlie Kirk and attacking Black Lives Matter is excellent politics in the GOP, and probably won't hurt Mace if she makes it to the general election, even though her state is more than 25% Black.

On the other hand, fellow Democrats are attacking Michigan congresswoman Haley Stevens, who's running for a Senate seat, because of this:

One of Democrats' most fraught internal fights of the year resurfaced Wednesday after Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) introduced articles of impeachment against HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

... House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told Axios he hasn't taken a look at Stevens' measure, adding: "You know what I'm focused on? Making sure that the American people don't have their health care ripped away from them."

... "Do the math," said Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), who told Axios he has had constituents suggest "we impeach every [Cabinet] secretary."

Said a senior House Democrat: "None of these folks have come to us to figure out what's the comms plan, how do we organize members around it, how do we get some Republicans to do it?"

... "You can't swing a cat without hitting an impeachable offense in this administration, but having that amount to anything productive and be a good use of our time in this Congress is a totally different question," said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.).

"It's just deeply distracting and unproductive to make that our priority in this moment. ... Enjoy your media cycle."

Stevens is not my favorite Democrat in the Michigan Senate primary. She's much less progressive than her main opponents, state senator Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed, a Bernie-ite former public health official, and thus is Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand's preferred candidate. But it should be the official position of the Democratic Party that Kennedy is unfit to serve and deserves impeachment. Every Democrat should co-sponsor this resolution, even if it's going nowhere, just to send a message.

I understand why so many people in D.C. are afraid to take Kennedy on: they think he brings with him a genuinely swing-y voting bloc of quackery-curious suburban voters. But a respect for human life requires decent people to take sides. Did I mention that measles is running rampant in South Carolina right now? In a better world, Nancy Mace would co-sponsor the Stevens impeachment resolution.

I understand that many Democrats think impeachment demands are pointless and futile. But if you're a Democrat who believes this and a reporter asks you for a comment, make the choice not to attack a fellow Democrat. Don't give Axios the opportunity to run an "Infighting Erupts" headline while the Daily Wire says, "House Dem Files Articles Of Impeachment Against RFK Jr. And Even Her Own Party Is Trashing Her." Just shut the fuck up.