The two big Ds in the Democrat Party today are Denial and Delusion. The first D comes in the form of strident progressives who refuse to believe their far-left radicalism is the cause of the catastrophe currently encompassing the party. But it is the second D that is arguably more damaging: It comes in the form of so-called “moderates” who call for course correction but have never seriously stood against the woke establishment forces that have driven Democrats into the political ditch.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker falls squarely into the Denial camp. Asked on Feb. 28 – during an appearance on ABC’s The View – how Democrats can regain touch with the working-class voters who abandoned them last November, Pritzker replied that it is only the packaging that needs gussying up; the core product is just fine.
‘The Problem Was Messaging’
“Yeah, what I don’t think is that we should change the fundamental policies of the Democratic Party to move to the right to try to address this,” Pritzker said. “The problem in the last election was messaging. Honestly, we have the right position.” He then brought up raising the minimum wage and supporting Medicaid as examples. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re broadly talking about the economic issues that are affecting people’s daily lives,” he added.
What he didn’t mention, of course, was the crucial economic (as well as cultural, national security, and basic community health) issue that he and his fellow progressives have ardently championed at the great expense of the American people: illegal immigration.
“The cost of providing services to illegal [aliens] is costing Illinois taxpayers an estimated $2.84 billion since July 1, 2022. This does not include education costs or other various state and local services,” an April 2024 post on the website of Illinois Republican state Rep. Chris Miller reads.
“An Illinois state audit has revealed that Governor JB Pritzker's administration hugely underestimated the cost of programs providing health care to [illegal aliens], prompting calls for them to be shut down,” Newsweek reported on Feb. 28. “The report, released on [Feb. 26] by Auditor General Frank Mautino's office, said the programs have cost the state more than $1.6 billion since 2020.”
The illegal immigration crisis and inflation are widely regarded as the two key issues that most hurt Democrats in 2024. What was the governor focused on instead? Pritzker, who did as much as any leading blue elected official in the nation to fasten the illegal alien anchor around Democratic necks, spent a significant portion of his wealth (he is an heir to the Hyatt hotel family fortune and enjoys an estimated net worth of $3.7 billion) promoting abortion in eight states.
That is an unmistakable sign of a committed zealot. It puts his latest comments into proper perspective. Pritzker’s denial that progressive excess hurts Democrats is fully understandable because he is 100% committed to such radicalism.
It is the self-described “voices of reason” now making a reappearance that have some explaining to do.
Democrats Pushing Back Against the Left?
“[S]everal dozen Democratic political operatives” met last month at a “tony resort off the Potomac River,” where “frustration boiled over at the left wing of their party," Politico reported on March 2.
Golly, one hopes the champagne aperitifs still went down smoothly amid all that angst.
Third Way, a “center-left” think tank, hosted the day-and-a-half retreat, which resulted in crafting a five-page document on how Democrats can move to the middle.
“One of the key ways to win back the trust of the working class, some gathered there argued, was to ‘reduce far-left influence and infrastructure’ on the party, according to the takeaways document,” Politico related. “That included building a more moderate campaign infrastructure and talent pipeline, pushing ‘back against far-left staffers and groups that exert a disproportionate influence on policy and messaging,’ and refusing to participate in ‘far-left candidate questionnaires’ and ‘forums that create ideological purity tests.’”
Sounds good, except for one salient point: When was the last time an important Democrat elected official or party staffer publicly pushed against the woke progressivism that dominates the blue grassroots ranks in a truly meaningful way?
Third Way Executive Vice President for Public Affairs Matt Bennett is quoted repeatedly by the news outlet on the need for “moderates” to reclaim the party from the leftist activists who “deeply hurt [presidential nominee Kamala] Harris and down-ballot Democrats.”
This would be the same Matt Bennett who penned an article on the Third Way website in May 2024 titled “The Extensive Evidence That RFK Jr. Is a Right-Wing, MAGA-Aligned Crank.”
Other Third Way think pieces written as Democrats were hurling their electoral hopes off a woke cliff in 2024 include “The Myth of the Migrant Crime Wave,” “Trump’s Mass Deportation Is Not Feasible,” and “Rebutting Border Attacks on VP Harris.”
In other words, Third Way was fully on board with the progressive narrative steering the Harris campaign. Now, in the towering shadow of massive defeat, the “centrists” are shaking their heads and wondering how it went so wrong.
Here’s a clue: Establishment Republicans who oppose party leader Donald Trump are hailed as “heroes” by Democrats and the dominant press. But those who even remotely align with the Democratic orbit have their character viciously assaulted in annihilating fashion if they dare stand up against the anointed party candidate. Ask 2024 third-party hopefuls Jill Stein and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. how that works.
Here's a taste. “Jill Stein: A Russian Asset and a Hypocrite,” Third Way exclaimed in September.
Authentic pushback inside the Democratic ranks? It’s simply not allowed, and that is why the Delusion of “moderate reform” is the most deadly D for a dissent-crushing monolith that has become the officially licensed home of the progressive establishment in America today.
