Democrats — Who are they?
Not only is the Democratic Party in disarray, but it seems to be getting weirder by the day.
From New York to California and Chicago in between, the Democrats are having an identity crisis and finding no real answers to their current dilemma, which appears to be: Who are we? At least that’s what I derived from the news coming from the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting this week in Minneapolis.
My interest in what is going on nationally is the rise of the far-left/socialist movement and its effect on Democrats in states, counties, and local elections.
It’s apparent in Bucks County that our diehard Democratic County Commissioners Bob Harvie and Diane Ellis-Marseglia are not stepping out of line with their party, and we have an example with their end run on Bucks Sheriff Fred Harran, a Republican up for reelection. A few months ago, Harran entered into an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is being sued, not by the commissioners who claim he had no authority to do so, but by the left-wing American Civil Liberties Union. (A surrogate, perhaps?)
Also, within the party, another generation of Democrats familiar with winning races with the help of blue-collar voters and historically supportive interest groups such as unions are being outfoxed by a younger generation dabbling in socialism and rallying around a 33-year-old, self-described socialist Democrat. Well on his way to becoming the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani is promising free bus rides and rent, government-owned grocery stores, more social workers, and fewer cops.
It is noteworthy that neither Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer nor House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) have endorsed Mamdani.
But in Minneapolis, the DNC talk ranged from expanding the Supreme Court (if they win the White House), how to stop Trump from “destroying the democracy,” and toughening up their image, as in being more “macho.” Bizarre, if you ask me.
The struggling Democrats also grumbled about the downward slide in their voter registration numbers, as reported by the New York Times. Results of their poll showed Democrats have been losing registered voters for the past four years.
None of this bodes well for a party in identity crisis, of course. Will they take advice from successful old-guard Democratic leaders, including Bill Clinton, James Carville, Barack Obama, and former New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio? The advice seems to be that the new movement is out of touch with the majority of Democratic voters. Imagine that.
Apparently, some in the party think the rise of the socialist wing and the anti-Israel, anti-ICE, anti-deportation noise coming from Democrats scattered in blue states and cities nationwide is a winner. So what face will they put forward?
If you go along with the old adage that “all politics is local,” you may want to pay attention to the Democratic Party’s internal debate and its leftward push. The message inevitably will trickle down and have an effect on our local Democrats, their politics, their positions, and local issues.
It happened here about a month ago with the attempted put-down of the county sheriff by Harvie and Ellis-Marseglia regarding Harran’s willingness to work with ICE. That is a politically controversial federal issue and we don’t know how our county commissioners stand on this. And we should know.
All of this could be coming to a town near you. Stay tuned.
Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.
