Should the final vote count favor Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Democrats on the Hill may find that they have written a check that they just can't cash. Whether it is Black Lives Matter demanding "something" for their vote, or districts across the nation flickering in the purple haze between blue and red, the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is about to discover that serving more than one master can become very ugly, very quickly.
Patrisse Cullors – self-described "trained Marxist" and co-founder of BLM – is pounding at the door of the Biden/Harris campaign demanding that they "take [their] direction from Black grassroots organizers that have been engaged in this work for decades, with a legacy that spans back to the first arrival of enslaved Africans." She also offered a helping hand, saying:
"We would like to be actively engaged in your Transition Team's planning and policy work."
At the root of these demands is the belief that her organization – the same one that has been burning cities and rioting these last few months – was instrumental in delivering the "support of black people."
Throughout the summer, the looting and arson we witnessed disproportionately impacted minority communities, destroying businesses and homes while disrupting police officers from preventing violent crimes. As former Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best described: "Rapes, robberies and all sorts of violent acts have been occurring in the area, and we're not able to get to [them]."
Will Joe Biden and Kamala Harris agree to work with a group that enabled rapists to carry out their crimes? If Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has any say in the matter, they just may.
Pouring Gasoline
In a CNN interview, AOC suggested that Joe Biden was open to the party's progressive wing. She said:
"… there are, at least in the House caucus, very deep divisions within the party, and I believe that we really need to come together and not allow Republican narratives to tear us apart. As you mentioned, we have a slimmer Democratic majority. It's going to be more important than ever for us to work together and not to fight each other."
Words of cooperation, indeed. But she added that some "moderate" Democrats had poured "gasoline on these already delicate tensions in the party." On the other hand, the moderates accused AOC of being responsible for the poor election night results in House races.
Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Committee, lambasted Ocasio-Cortez for being the cause of the losses that have shrunk the Democrat House majority. In such fury was Mr. Jacobs that he reached out to the New York Post to air his grievance (perhaps in the knowledge that more left-leaning outlets would not challenge the Squad directly). He said:
“AOC has no standing on how to run a general election in the suburbs and upstate. AOC is in a district that’s 6-1 Democrat and she couldn’t find a Republican in her district with binoculars … I invite AOC to come to Long Island and stand for election in one of our districts. You’ll see different results.”
At the heart of his complaint is that, like Miss Cullors, AOC is demanding the party move further to the left in its calls for defunding the police and promoting a socialist/Marxist agenda. This has cost Democrats seats in formerly “safe” districts.
California Dreaming?
Republicans have so far flipped nine seats with a net gain of six, and at the time of publishing, the House stands at 218 for Democrats and 202 for the GOP. Of the remaining 15 seats up for grabs, Republicans have the lead in all but three - a significant number of which are located in New York and California.
While Democrats have maintained control of the House, every vote for the next two years will come down to a razor-thin margin; if Republicans keep control of the Senate (presently leading 50 to 48), any left-leaning legislative actions will be a hard sell.
If Joe Biden ultimately wins the presidency, perhaps rule by executive order will once again become popular in the mainstream media.
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Read more from Mark Angelides.
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