Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, has thrown down the gauntlet in a fiery clash over congressional redistricting, rejecting any notion of taking the high road.
According to Fox News, Swalwell dismissed Michelle Obama’s well-known “when they go low, we go high” philosophy during a recent CNN appearance. He instead promised to “bury” Republicans “below the Capitol” in a fight over new district maps.
Appearing on “CNN Newsroom,” Swalwell made it clear he sees this as a no-holds-barred defense of democracy. Host Omar Jimenez questioned if such aggressive tactics might backfire, but Swalwell doubled down, insisting Democrats must stop playing nice.
Swalwell’s exact words cut deep: “No, when they go low, we’re going to bury them below the Capitol.” Such language signals a stark departure from the softer tone Democrats once championed, raising eyebrows about how far this combative stance will go.
He tied his rhetoric to a broader struggle, accusing Texas Republicans of a “grab for power” orchestrated by former President Donald Trump to tilt upcoming midterm elections. Swalwell argued that matching this aggression is the only way to shield vulnerable communities from being steamrolled.
His frustration is palpable when he says Democrats have “paid the price for our weakness in the past.” While his passion might resonate with some, it risks alienating those who still believe in bridging divides rather than digging deeper trenches.
At the heart of this showdown is California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw congressional maps mid-decade, targeting five Republican-held seats. This move directly counters similar GOP efforts in Texas, but it’s a risky gambit given California’s constitutional ban on such changes outside a nonpartisan commission process.
Newsom and state Democrats are now angling for a special election to get voter approval and sidestep those rules. Swalwell defends this as a necessary response, claiming it forces Trump and his allies to react rather than dictate terms.
Yet, one has to wonder if this tit-for-tat map-making turns elections into a game of who can redraw the lines fastest. It’s less about voters choosing leaders and more about leaders choosing voters, a trend that erodes trust on all sides.
Swalwell isn’t alone in shedding the old Democratic mantra of rising above petty fights. Even Michelle Obama herself redefined “going high” in a 2020 DNC speech as “scraping and clawing” to the top while fiercely standing against hatred.
Her updated take—“going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty”—suggests a shift toward grit over grace. But when does fighting fire with fire just leave everyone burned?
This growing trend among Democrats, with Swalwell as the latest voice, shows a party ready to slug it out rather than turn the other cheek. While they frame it as protecting democracy, the rhetoric borders on a street brawl, not a debate.
Swalwell’s vow to bury opponents and Newsom’s push to rewrite the electoral map reflect a deeper problem: politics as warfare, not governance. When both sides redraw districts to lock in power, the average citizen’s voice gets drowned out in the noise of partisan scheming.
Democrats may argue they’re just leveling the playing field against Republican tactics in Texas, but two wrongs don’t make a right. If protecting democracy means tearing up the rulebook, as California’s proposed special election suggests, then what’s left to protect?
This battle over redistricting isn’t just about lines on a map; it’s about whether we still believe in a system where fairness outranks revenge. Swalwell’s words and Newsom’s actions might rally their base, but they also gamble with the fragile trust Americans have in any of this working at all.
