Remember when the Democratic Party stood for working-class Americans, advocated for reasonable economic policies, and worked across the aisle to get things done? Except for post-9/11 unity, I can’t.
I suspect those days are officially over. And if you think it’s bad now, it’s going to get worse.
New polling data shows far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) leading Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) by a staggering 19 points in a hypothetical New York Senate primary matchup. Whether or not it’s an accurate reflection of how such a primary would turn out, it's nevertheless confirmation that the Democratic Party's transformation from the party of JFK to the party of AOC is nearly complete.
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Schumer's compromise with Republicans on government shutdown funding is what prompted voices in the party to call on AOC to challenge Schumer in the first place. Schumer is obviously no moderate, but the party’s increasingly dominant progressive wing saw his willingness to let a continuing resolution come to a vote and prevent a government shutdown as betrayal. In today’s Democratic Party, there’s no room for pragmatism. You either resist at all costs, or you’re politically finished.
The numbers paint a stark picture of a party lurching dramatically leftward. An overwhelming 82% of surveyed voters strongly support AOC's potential Democratic Party leadership, while 84% believe current Democratic leadership isn't sufficiently challenging the Trump administration. This isn't your grandfather's Democratic Party anymore; it's a party that's abandoned its populist roots in favor of full-blown socialism.
AOC and Bernie Sanders' ongoing "Fighting Oligarchy" tour exemplifies this radical shift. Their message of taxpayer-funded healthcare, universal housing, and the economically devastating Green New Deal resonates with the younger voters who are the future of the party.
The timing couldn't be worse for Democrats as President Trump's approval ratings continue to climb alongside improving economic indicators.
Schumer's predicament is particularly telling. After decades of serving as a loyal and powerful figure on the left, one vote — simply to keep the government functioning — has seemingly erased his legacy in the eyes of the Democratic Party’s radical base. His decision to avoid a government shutdown by allowing a continuing resolution to move forward was hardly a shift to the center, but that didn’t matter.
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The implications for the party’s future are profound. The Democrats are facing a moment of reckoning. Should AOC move forward with a primary challenge and manage to unseat Schumer, she would almost certainly win the general election in deep-blue New York. That would signal more than just a generational change; it would mark a decisive victory for the party’s socialist flank. And that victory would likely embolden similar insurgent campaigns across the country, putting pressure on the rest of the party to either fall in line or prepare for the political guillotine.
In short, the Democratic Party stands at a crossroads. Voters must choose between returning to a more mainstream, results-driven approach — one that values governance over grandstanding — or continuing down the path toward full-blown socialism. Judging by the latest polling numbers and the speed with which Schumer was thrown under the bus, it seems the base has already made up its mind. And it’s not a direction JFK would recognize, let alone support.
