The progressive paragons of tolerance and civility are at it again. Democratic state Rep. Brian Sims of Pennsylvania was obtuse enough to capture himself on video belligerently harassing an older woman peacefully praying the rosary outside an abortion clinic. His vile bullying has since gone viral, and not in the way the attention-seeking politician intended.
https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1125136876543696896
Sims is perfect casting for a reality-show expose on the hollowness of leftist claims of championing tolerance. But his ruthless browbeating of a prayerful pro-lifer also reveals the Achilles’ heel of the young radicals now seemingly driving the bus in the grassroots progressive ranks. These extremists are completely tone deaf as to how offputting their tinpot-dictator behavior is to everyday Americans. Quite simply, conservatives could not have commissioned a better campaign ad against progressive madness than what Sims handed them on a silver platter.
Compassion, Energy, Empathy
"A Humanist in Action," reads the glowing profile of Sims in a 2014 article posted at TheHumanist.com. "I'm a very empathy-based person,” Sims told the interviewer. "I try to be cognizant not to confuse compassion with empathy though. Compassion motivates the amount of energy I bring to my work, but I do the work because I’m an empathetic person."
This, of course, is how progressives everywhere see themselves when they gaze into the mirror. Those ignorant, bigoted conservatives are blinded by hate, but we're the open-minded ones. Unfortunately, they don't like to walk the walk. "Today’s protester, now she is an old white lady who is going to try to avoid showing you her face,” an overly aggressive Sims harangued the praying woman outside the clinic as he pointed his camera at her. "Who'd have thought that an old lady would be outside a Planned Parenthood telling people what is right for their bodies," he continued badgering her as the woman calmly tried to ignore him. "Don’t convince yourself that what you are doing isn't extremely racist."
A flood of negative attention from pro-lifers, conservatives, and decent-minded people in general has not dissuaded Sims in the least. He has double-downed hard on his hostility, stirring the pot even more with tweets calling out "Bible bullies" and their "fake morals":
https://twitter.com/BrianSimsPA/status/1125167944529588225
https://twitter.com/BrianSimsPA/status/1123984311609380864
Sims is the first open homosexual ever elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature and has received national media attention for his "aggressive approach to his progressive agenda," as NBC News put it in a 2018 feature article. "Brian Sims perfects the political counterpunch," is how the headline put it. "Since his 2012 election victory, Sims has made a name for himself as an outspoken, progressive legislator unafraid to highlight his agnosticism, opposition to gun rights and devotion to LGBTQ equality," the article states.
Vulgar Radical
Sims previewed the lack of personal self-discipline that he would later give full vent to outside the Planned Parenthood clinic in a crass and tasteless June 2018 Facebook post in which he welcomed Vice President Mike Pence to Philadelphia by giving him the finger. Is this what NBC regards as a "perfect" political counterpunch?
His anti-gun position is indeed hardline. "I don't believe we should have guns. I think the utility of guns in modern America is far outweighed by the cost of guns,” Sims told NBC News. "I would ban all guns tomorrow if I could, and people know it."
Brian Sims
If only Sims realized how his vulgarity toward Pence and the personal recording of strong-arm tactics against praying women undercut any attempts to make his stridently leftist political beliefs palatable to mainstream Americans. In this regard, Sims is the anti-Buttigieg. Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, IN, is desperately trying to come across as "The Andy Griffith Show" Midwestern progressive homosexual of the 2020 Democratic presidential field. Pete gets up in the morning and goes to church. Pete gave up coffee for Lent. Pete went to Jimmy Carter's Sunday school class.
Given this carefully plotted imagery, the last thing the Buttigieg campaign wants to see is a militant homosexual elected Democrat tormenting a woman praying the rosary. But like so many progressives, Sims cannot control his radicalism enough to represent his party responsibly to the public at large. Will Buttigieg or any prominent Dems publicly rebuke him? Not in any meaningful way. Being a member of a prized identity group in the progressive ranks likely assures that Sims will face no serious repercussions within the party for his obnoxious and deeply uncivil antics. This is how progressives lose elections, and the smart ones know it. But they're not driving the bus.
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