Fight! Fight! We’ve got blue on blue fighting here and the bruises are big and red.
A fellow by the name of Will Marshall, the founder and president of The Progressive Policy Institute, recently penned a piece for The Hill entitled, “The midterms aren’t enough — Democrats must campaign for the White House” in which he dons a Republican skin-suit. He says (among many other things we will shortly go into):
“Democrats owe working people …more than performative attacks on billionaires and new handouts from Washington.”
That’s funny. Because that’s literally, exactly what another prominent progressive, The New Republic’s Editor, Michael Tomasky prescribed just recently as a must-do: give the middle class lots of free stuff and a “villain” in fat-cat corporate types. Which is what you’d expect a progressive to say. Mr. Tomasky took 10,000 words to say it, but that was the upshot.
But Mr. Marshall’s advice, as you will shortly see, is so opposite that of Mr. Tomasky’s it makes me wonder if he slogged through his circumlocution and decided to be contrary just to spite him for taking so damned long to say it. (I’m just speculating, but I don’t think I’d invite Mr. Marshall and Mr. Tomasky to the same dinner party.) Because boy howdy, did Mr. Marshall throw the wine glasses at the wall and go contrary. What’s his big idea to win the White House? It all sounds very familiar — if you’re a Republican!
On immigration, Democrats are right to demand an end to brutal enforcement tactics. But where do they stand on the underlying issue of securing the border and enforcing U.S. immigration laws? Democrats must reassure voters they won’t repeat the Biden administration’s colossal error of making it easy for people to enter the country without permission. They should reaffirm the Obama and Clinton administration’s resolute opposition to illegal immigration. And they should reject “Sanctuary City” declarations as a gratuitous exercise in progressive moral preening.
Wow. Other than the virtue-signal regarding ICE, this posture on illegal immigration is virtually indistinguishable from Trump’s. Biden’s open border was a “colossal error”? What must their internal polling look like? And he advises they should not only oppose but resolutely oppose sanctuary cities. On the basis of it being “moral preening.” That’s a good hard slap, isn’t it? Yikes. But surely they can’t mean it. Surely they mean to only message moderation then govern like a rabid liberal like we’ve seen with Virginia’s new governor, Abigail Spanberger.
And it gets worse — if you’re progressive. Below is an absolutely amazing laundry list from Mr. Marshall — especially since he is the founder of a progressive group. Keep that in mind as you read because it’s a stunner. He just knocks ‘em down like bowling pins here:
On crime and public order, Democrats likewise need to distance themselves from the left’s anti-police rhetoric, vow swift and certain punishment for lawbreakers and dismantle homeless encampments that disfigure our cities.
Democrats also should affirm that our shared national identity as Americans is more important than our different race, ethnic and gender identities. And they should oppose attempts to excommunicate Democrats who express common sense qualms about transgender operations for children.
Wait, wait, wait… No more demonizing the police? “Swift and certain punishment for lawbreakers”? Does that include illegals? It’s a safe bet “no.” But wow.
And tents lining sidewalks and populating public areas “disfigure” cities? That’s quite a choice of words. And these homeless should be put… where? Isn’t that usually the cry? I notice he doesn’t offer an answer. He likely doesn’t care as long as public spaces look good enough long enough to make the right impression. They’ve done it before.
And stop with the balkanization of identity-this and identity-that? “Race, ethnic, and gender”? That’s the whole ball of wax, man. You ain’t got nothin’ left after that. But he wants it stopped.
And knock off the cancel culture? Of their own? I notice he doesn’t mention us. I guess it’s okay to keep canceling us.
And finally, at the end of this amazing paragraph, he acknowledges that “qualms” about butchering children is “common sense”? Since when?? Since a winning lawsuit said so? Holy cow.
Did he fall on his head? There’s nothing progressive about any of that. Not one bit of it. That’s like 80% of the GOP platform, right there. In that one paragraph! You could do a Venn diagram and have quite the overlap.
Amazingly, he’s not done. He keeps going, attacking another liberal shibboleth.
The party should also acknowledge that climate alarmism has failed to convince working class voters to embrace policies they see as producing energy scarcity and high fuel bills. Democrats instead should use the full suite of fuels and clean technologies to meet rising energy demand (including for data centers) while reducing carbon emissions on more realistic timetables.
“Failed to convince” us is understating it. It’s been a complete bust, with something like 2% of the public naming “climate alarmism” as a priority issue, so this is pragmatic, if insincere. The hard reality of high utility bills has, at long last, linked in this progressive’s brain with their insane “no oil” policies. This neural knitting is welcome, even if it doesn’t produce any meaningful electricity.
He then finishes with an admonition to keep their eyes on the prize and get a Democrat trifecta in 2028 (White House, Senate, House) to reverse the Trump legacy once he’s gone. That’s going to require some E.R.-worthy whiplash if they mean all this rhetoric but it’s a safe bet they don’t. It’s just what they always do: fake-moderate during an election year then govern hard left. They are who they are: Radical, Marxist, neo-Communists. And they won’t change. Only their rhetoric does.
What was it Van Jones said so long ago? “I’m willing to forgo the cheap satisfaction of the radical pose for the deep satisfaction of radical ends.”? Throw away the “hippie” clothes. Get a law degree (for instance). Or, as we’re seeing in these progressive articles, run for office saying whatever you have to say to get elected. Put on a suit and tie and burrow in. Boy have they done that, “deep state” and all. Play the game, the long game. One does wonder how much “game” time is left, though.
It feels like not much.
M. Walter blogs at www.mwalterwriter.com