What is so Progressive about the Left?
That is a question that popped into my head and I have spent some time trying to figure it out.
You have Democrats who believe in this country as much as any Republican and they seem to be stepping aside and letting this small but growing faction of the party have its day in the spotlight. The moderate Democrats, it seems, are letting this group go out and shoot themselves in the foot on a daily basis.
From Maxine Waters ignorant comments during the Chauvin trial in Minneapolis to anything that comes out of AOC’s mouth. It is apparent that the loudest voices of the party don’t actually speak for the party but some far left edge. The group of four apparently have much bigger platforms than the bulk of the party and it would seem to me that leadership is tolerating these divisive individuals for one specific reason. To let them burn their support and lose their voices.
An example of how the party is letting them go with no pushback. By and large, these left leaning politicians believe that defunding police will somehow end racism and bring equality and justice to all. Are they out of their minds? Seriously. Defunding police is just plain stupid and it will not work. The examples are many across the country where politicians have changed police policy to respond to the call for defunding. Crime rates are going up in almost every major city in the United States. Gun violence has increased in almost every city in the United States. Robberies as well. You know what the statistics all have in common? Every city (except two) has Democratic leadership. The same Democrats that are listening to this vocal minority and reigning in police policy. The same Democrats who got elected by the people the increased violence has most affected.
This is where I do think the pendulum will start swinging the other way. The leaders of these cities have failed miserably because they were afraid of that progressive branch of their own party. Typical of Democrats, they failed to stand up to that portion of their party and things have gone down hill quickly. The electorate of these cities will decide that progressive policies, while possibly well intentioned, have a negative effect on their lives and will vote them out.
That is what Democracy is. The ability to vote the bad apples out and put someone in who may do a better job. It doesn’t always work but the mere fact that you do a crappy job, you should be tossed. Obviously, Mayor Bill deBlasio is an exception. He was a horrible mayor from the get go. He got reelected simply because New York City was doing well in spite of him. Why change mayors when things are good, even if he not responsible for any of it? When the pandemic hit, he was exposed as a do nothing kind of guy and thankfully, for him, term limits prevent him from trying again. However, for the most part, elections tend to lower the boom on the bad ones and keep the good ones.
I think there will always be a progressive left just like there will always be a far right conservative segment. It’s one of the things that makes this country great. We tolerate the fringes and keep the country somewhere in the middle. Some years we have Democrats in control, some years we have Republicans. Because we are in an age of instant communication and instant gratification, we have seen fringe groups become more active voicing their feelings and getting their message out there. It allows them to appear more powerful than they really are.
However, at the end of the day, the majority of Americans still want to feel safe at home and when they go out. They want the ability to earn a decent wage for a decent days work and want their kids to be educated with little or no bias. All things the Progressive Liberals want to change. You don’t have to be a Democrat or a Republican to see that in the end, they are doomed to fail.