By Jeffrey A. Rendall
Conservatives led the way with primarying incumbents; now Democrats are trying it
Every seasoned political observer knows Democrats aren’t blessed with a plethora of original designs on how to improve their results, so now they’ve resorted to borrowing/stealing ideas from conservatives to achieve what couldn’t otherwise be gained through offering better policy concepts.
If you’ve paid attention to the political trends from recent years you’ve surely deduced that the Democrat party has moved steadily to the left, with so-called “moderate” politicians having been pushed aside by aggressive progressive “burn it all down” agitators like Ilhan Omar.
Rather than immerse themselves in practicality and embrace their working-class roots, Democrats moved to the other extreme – towards socialism and total government control with centralized decision-making and implementation. “Thought police” is the term for it.
Bernie Sanders nearly captured the 2016 Democrat party presidential nomination by touting his open socialist policies and the swift lurch to the party’s left hasn’t slowed since. “Bernie Bros” have grown in numbers and their voices are no longer dulled by cautionary shouts from middle-of-the-roaders in the Democrat establishment.
These new Democrats no longer pretend to be “reasonable”. They demand compliance. Refuse to condemn Iran? Cool! Don’t stand for Americans at the State of the Union speech? Sure, do it! Medicare for All? Done deal! Trans mutilation operations for minors? It’s a civil rights issue! Punish the rich? Redistribute income? Open the borders and then look the other way when millions cross illegally? Done! Done! Done!
But this ongoing ideological metamorphosis has had its impact on the types of candidates Democrats look to represent the next generation of party members. Democrats view the pre-Trump Tea Parties and now work to replace old-guard non-conformists through the party primary nominating process, similar to how conservatives worked to force change.
In a typically well-presented article titled, “The coming progressive Tea Party”, W. James Antle III wrote at the Washington Examiner recently:
“Like the Tea Party, insurgent progressives aren’t just angry at the president or the opposition party. They have little confidence in their own party’s leadership. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is 22 points underwater in a RealClearPolitics average of his favorability ratings. Schumer has become an issue in competitive Democratic primaries, with some candidates declining to support him continuing as party leader.
“A CBS News poll found that 64% of registered voters believe the Democrats are ‘weak’ compared to only 43% who said the same about the GOP. But the fact that more respondents believed Republicans were ‘extreme’ and picked Democrats as ‘reasonable’ by a narrow margin suggests at least some of this is due to disaffected progressives, much like when Biden posted his lowest poll numbers during his single term in office.
“At the same time, 58% consider Democrats to be too liberal, the biggest percentage since the 1990s. That could mean Democrats could go too far for the voters, as was the case in 2024.”
Democrats always go too far. It’s in their very nature(s) and it’s the reason why liberals can’t build on their power base once they’re back in authority.
By the same token, Democrats play a phony “moderate” card whenever they’re out of power. The establishment media boosts them in this regard, helping Democrats paint Republicans as “extreme” for insisting on enforcing immigration laws or cutting the size of government, because, well, bureaucracy is wasteful, inefficient and expensive.
But perhaps the biggest reason Democrats won’t be able to emulate the Tea Parties of the Obama era is the fact they themselves can’t agree on what they’re for. Whereas conservatives largely united over the notion government bailouts were ruining the republic — and they surely didn’t want government run healthcare — Democrats are a coalitional party made up of factions that demand different outcomes.
They’re all left-leaning, so it works for Democrats. But as the factions move away from the center – and the concept of American individual rights and traditions – they will find it harder to come together over unifying foundations.
It’s one of the reasons why the liberty-minded Tea Parties were successful in nominating certain conservative candidates in specific districts and states, but weren’t able to bring the Republican Party to champion limited government causes as a whole. The Tea Parties united over fiscal matters and reducing the size of government, but they sometimes resisted bringing social conservatives into the fold.
The Tea Parties weren’t exactly motivated by the Pro-Life cause. And many libertarian-types wouldn’t get onboard with the social conservatives’ push for strengthening traditional marriage and families. Tea Partiers often found themselves on the same side as the social conservatives, but the issues weren’t consolidated.
Donald Trump incorporated much of what the Tea Parties believed in, but his Make America Great Again movement was more populist in nature and certainly wouldn’t be considered fiscally conservative. Trump was okay with keeping the big entitlement programs the way they existed and, at least initially, didn’t worry much about reducing the size of government or cutting government borrowing.
Even today, Trump isn’t necessarily against using government power to intervene in the economy, and he’s mostly taken a hands-off approach to controversial social issues, trusting his Supreme Court appointments to make changes through a series of decisions and rulings, such as the Dobbs case that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Conservatives, by and large, are happy with Trump and the president has filled his cabinet with conservatives who have championed limited government priorities. And needless to say, Trump believes in peace through strength and a strong military. He’s used the fighting forces for targeted missions, too, while avoiding long-term “nation-building” type commitments.
We’re yet to find out how Iran will be resolved. But it’s doubtful Trump looks to Iraq and Afghanistan as models for emulation.
Today, the primary Tea Parties still exist, but they’ve gotten much of what they’d originally advocated for…except for balanced budgeting and deficit reduction, of course. No small considerations.
Can progressives build their own Tea Party-like movement? No. At least not by using the Tea Party grassroots model as a guide. Surveys show that “mainstream” Democrats are liberals, for sure, but the kooks we see out donning “No Kings!” signs… they’re a special breed.
Today’s leftist movements may look “organic” in nature, but they’re not. Leftwing organizations devote big money to voter registration drives and get-out-the-vote efforts. These have been successful because Republicans, due to Trump, have been almost too successful in getting what they’ve sought to create.
Some Trump voters have become disillusioned with MAGA’s emphasis on abundance, but not many.
Progressives, on the other hand, only care about government power when Republicans control the levers of the machine. Democrats didn’t say anything about ICE until Donald Trump’s people commanded the officers and set policy. Leftists also don’t care about a strong military just as long as their social movements are included in the orders and commands.
But to have a series of progressive Tea Parties form, Democrats would need something more concrete and long lasting than simply the figure of Donald Trump to hate on. Yes, if someone like J.D. Vance inherits MAGA and comes after Trump, it’s arguable Democrats would despise Vance just as intensely.
Harken back to the 2020 Democrat presidential primaries. Was there a singular issue or set of issues that any particular candidate was renowned for? Bernie Sanders was the socialist, yes, but senile Joe Biden and the gaggle of Democrat establishment candidates all championed the standard Democrat big government platform, along with the liberal social/cultural agenda.
Pete Buttigieg as the “gay” candidate. Did his platform differ markedly from the others?
Democrats love taxes. Could hiking taxes and soaking the rich be a central point to rally the Progressive Tea Parties? Problem: Democrats say “the rich” should pay more, but it’s always someone else chipping in the extra millions/billions. It’s a phony argument.
Democrats seem motivated by race/gender (trans)/climate/abortion/soak the rich issues, but this isn’t where the “swing” voters are. Whereas the conservative Tea Parties came together around a “Government is too big” message, it’s unlikely the left could stir the masses with a “Government isn’t powerful enough” pitch.
The “real” Tea Parties tossed the crates of tea into the harbor. They didn’t ask King George III to intervene and dictate to the non-believers like progressives do.
Progressive causes burn hot and then fizzle out. They’re unsustainable. They may get a few socialists nominated, but their short-term success will only hurt them in the long run. The American People crave stability and peace – and normalcy. Democrats just can’t deliver it.
Jeff Rendall is editor and publisher of GolfintheUSA.com and has written about golf and politics for over a quarter of a century. A non-practicing attorney from California, he moved to the east coast three decades ago to pursue and combine his interests in all things American history and culture. Jeff has worked as an intern on Capitol Hill and in various capacities in grassroots organizing and conservative organizations and publications, including a nearly two-decade stint at ConservativeHQ.com. Column republishing or other inquiries: Rendall@msn.com .