“Whether they’re railing against Bernie Sanders or Ilhan Omar, when it comes to unity in the Democratic Party it’s clear that that idea only applies to the more moderate and corporate friendly within their club.”
Talk about a non sequitur! You take ONE example from ONE Democrat and apply it to the entire party. Would it be fair if I were to dig through all of your posts, select ONE quote, and then declare that it is representative of the entire progressive movement?
“After both Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who happen to be two of the three leading candidates for the democratic nomination, both released plans detailing their visions for Medicare for All, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi deemed it appropriate to publicly declare that she “wasn’t a fan” of that approach to healthcare.”
You have said much harsher things about Ms. Pelosi’s political stances. Does that mean that you oppose the Democratic Party? Must everybody endorse every single statement Mr. Sanders makes or be condemned by you as hypocrites?
“For leftists, unity means rallying around what’s best for the American people.”
Yep, although what you really mean is:
“For leftists, unity means rallying around LEFTISTS THINK is best for the American people.”
In other words, you think that ‘unity’ means ‘agreeing with me’.
“Next time a centrist brings up unity in the face of criticism, let’s be careful to remember that word is nothing more than a distraction. They don’t mean any of it, unless it protects their own self serving, corrupt interests.”
Here you assert that the majority of the Democratic Party is corrupt and unworthy of support. This is the great sin of the progressive movement: its rejection of democratic principle. Progressives don’t respect the will of the majority; if they’re outvoted (as was the case in the 2016 primaries), they insist that the vote was rigged against them. We’ve heard that claim from the Trumpsters, too. The bulk of Democrat voters are nowhere near as far to the left as the progressives, yet the progressives hold that majority in contempt.
I am beginning to think that progressives present the second greatest threat to the republic (after the Trumpsters), because progressives are the mirror image of the Trumpsters. They’re every bit as ideologically adamant as the Trumpsters. They reject the notion of compromise, just like the Trumpsters. If they can’t get their way, then they want to bring the whole thing crashing down on everybody by letting Mr. Trump win the election.
The Democrats are definitely shifting to the left; Mr. Sanders and Ms. Warren together command a greater portion of the support of Democratic voters than Mr. Biden. It appears the Ms. Warren is likely to win the nomination; she embraces many of the desires of the progressive movement. But she’s not perfect. She declares herself a capitalist to her bones. She refuses to provide free college education to rich people. Yet we can be certain that progressives will attack her for not being good enough. When, after the primaries, she shifts toward the center, as is a universal practice in politics, the progressive will denounce her for betraying their trust. They’ll huff, they’ll puff, and they’ll sit out the election.
I am not an ideologue, and I am intellectually mature enough to recognize that a democracy requires compromises. A compromise is an arrangement that nobody likes but most people can live with. Progressives just don’t get that concept; they insist that anything that isn’t perfect is evil. For progressives, everything is black and white; there are no grays.
As it happens, I disagree with some of Ms. Warren’s positions. Her opposition to nuclear power is foolish pandering to the left; her protectionist proposals will hurt the economy; her wealth tax is a clumsy scheme that looks good on paper but will never get anywhere. Yet, unlike so many progressives, I am capable of evaluating the overall situation. Of all the candidates, her positions fit my own beliefs best. Sure, there are plenty of mismatches between her and me — but all things considered, she’s the best candidate for me. I do not rail against those proposals I don’t like. I have contributed to her campaign and will continue to do so.
Progressives are just the left-wing version of Trumpsters. Both groups of ideologues are a threat to our republic.