Party Unity is Now Impossible: Democrats Need a Hostile Takeover
Photo by Mark Wilson
In a recent interview, Senator Claire McCaskill acknowledged that she will likely face a primary challenger from her left in 2018. McCaskill was a strong proponent of Hillary Clinton’s presidential run, but has been on the receiving end of liberal outrage lately for her votes to confirm many of President Trump’s cabinet appointees.
McCaskill’s dilemma is not unique. Ever since Hillary Clinton’s defeat, her allies have occupied a sort of political no man’s land—detested by the right and completely out of step with the newly-mobilized Democratic base. A few weeks ago, Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), who many saw as a potential presidential candidate, was dragged over the coals for voting against an amendment proposed by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to allow the import of drugs from Canada.
These concerns are well-founded. Progressives across the country are running for office and, as McCaskill implied, looking to displace elected Democrats. ‘Berniecrats’ have already scored their first victory, in California’s Democratic Assembly District Delegate Elections, which determines the leadership of the party.
This new reality has been devastating to the Clinton crowd which has always been so certain that it was on “the right side of history” because they “lived it.” They saw the Reagan Revolution, so they’d “learned the hard way” that the U.S. was really a center-right country. They “knew” that change had to be incremental; hope paired with realistic expectations.
Now, they’re living in a world they do not understand, and are having trouble coping, which translates to some interesting confrontations. For example, then-DNC Chair candidate Tom Perez drew the ire of establishment mouthpiece and MSNBC commentator Joy Reid and her flock, when he publicly acknowledged that the DNC had not acted neutrally during the primary. Though he only stated the obvious, Reid and others charged that no evidence existed of “rigging.” Perez quickly backed down.
The Young Turks (TYT) reporter Jordan Chariton, whose fact check prompted Reid to backtrack on her point and instead argue that the bias did not impact the outcome, spoke to Paste about the incident.
“I think Joy Reid is probably a nice person who just doesn’t know any better about the real mood of the country,” Chariton remarked. “She lives in the cable news, follow-the-horse-race bubble that is inherently disconnected from what Americans actually care about . . . Frankly, folks like her have a diminishing voice and audience, so they will become less and less relevant as the years go on.”
He’s not wrong, and Clinton Democrats know it. Many are now calling for unity in the hopes of avoiding discussions about their political wisdom, and moving on from 2016 as quickly as possible. It is their only hope to maintain influence over the party. This sentiment is so perfectly captured in the following tweet by notorious establishment troll Sally Albright:
Berniecrats, sincerely asking in the spirit of unity: What do we need to do for you to feel welcome & to fully support DNC going forward?