If Democrats intend to wrest the White House from President Donald Trump, they’re going about it the wrong way.
A recent Pew Research poll indicates that as Democrats move further to the left, they may be leaving their base behind.
Since the arrival of newly-minted Democratic-socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, fellow party members — especially those considering a 2020 presidential run — are falling all over themselves to out-liberalize one another.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez declared the young political newbie the future of the party after she defeated then-No. 4 House Democrat Joseph Crowley in a primary battle, signaling a stampede of Democrats running to the far-left.
In response, fellow New Yorker Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, formerly a Blue Dog Democrat — one with conservative values — went full blown liberal.
She was closely aligned with President Donald Trump on immigration issues: Gillibrand was against amnesty for illegal immigrants, against sanctuary cities, and supported accelerated deportations. No more. She also embraces Medicare for all.
In addition, the National Rifle Association gave her a solid “A” rating when she was a House member. She since did a 180 on that issue also, claiming that she’s now “embarrassed” by her previous stance.
Hawaii’s U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard once worked with her father in an attempt to pass a state constitutional amendment that would protect traditional marriage. That has since changed and she claims to fully embrace LGBTQ issues.
“But over the years, I formed my own opinions based on my life experience that changed my views — at a personal level in having aloha, love, for all people, and ensuring that every American, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is treated equally under the law,” she tweeted.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif. went full-throttle socialist when announcing her presidential run to a crowd estimated at 20,000, calling for a laundry list of “free” programs, while offering nary a hint as to how she might pay for them.
" ... I am running to declare, once and for all, that health care is a fundamental right, and to deliver that right with 'Medicare for All,'” she said. “To declare education is a fundamental right, and we will guarantee that right with universal pre-K and debt-free college."
2020 presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., embraced Ocasio-Cortez’s 70 percent income tax rate on the “tippy-top” of income earners, and went one better: She proposed a tax on assets.
The White House’s Council of Economic Advisers noticed the growing trend toward socialism early on.
“Coincident with the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx’s birth, socialism is making a comeback in American political discourse,” the council warned in its Oct. 23 report.
On Jan. 24, Pew Research released a poll on American political priorities that suggests the Democrats’ rush to emulate democratic-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., may not be in their best interest.
Their report indicated that 40 percent of Democratic voters surveyed embraced the party’s move to the left.
However, a majority of Democratic voters surveyed — 53 percent — wanted to see the party become more centrist, and thus return to its traditionally-perceived blue-collar, working class roots. This was the Rust Belt group Trump wooed over in 2016 to secure his win.
Interestingly, Republicans also wanted to see their party move to the right, which may indicate that the country on a whole rejects a leftward move.
Starbucks Coffee Company founder and former CEO Howard Schultz, a lifelong Democrat, may have read the Pew Report and took it to heart. He told CBS News’ “60 Minutes” Sunday that he’s considering throwing his own hat in the ring as a centrist candidate.
Although he’s given an estimated $150,000 to past Democratic campaigns, he rejects the party’s current emphasis on “free health care for all,” observing that “the country cannot afford it.”
The former coffee magnate indicated that if he ran, it would be as an independent, third party candidate, which is infuriating other Democrats in the belief that such a campaign would peel votes from the Democratic nominee.
If the Pew poll has any validity at all, they’d be right.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to BizPac Review and Liberty Unyielding. He’s also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter, who can often be found honing his skills at the range. To read more of his reports - Click Here.