I've said before that I don't like using the term "progressive" to describe the Democrat Party, its ideology, or its positions. Why? Because it suggests improvement or progress. At the very least, it's a poor euphemism, but it's more deliberately deceptive if you ask me. “By calling itself progressive,” it implies every position it takes is a positive one. Sorry, I can't do that.
CNN’s Van Jones noted this very thing earlier this week. The commentator and former Obama administration official argued that Democratic Socialists of America-aligned candidates and their agenda are "regressive," not “progressive.” Jones warned that the party's drift toward socialism, hostility toward police, and open contempt for Israel is scaring off the centrist voters Democrats need to win elections. Even a guy who spent years defending this party on cable news can see the cliff it's walking toward.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) also figured this out last year, and he did something about it. Cohen revealed to CNN this week that he left the Congressional Progressive Caucus last year.
"I just found it to be not the same caucus I joined in 2007," Cohen said. "It had become more the socialist caucus, and most of the leadership was socialist Democrats. I didn't feel comfortable in it."
That's not a stray complaint from a bitter retiree. Cohen came to Congress in 2007 and aligned himself with J Street, a left-leaning Jewish organization that supports a two-state solution and has long rivaled the traditional pro-Israel lobby. Even that didn't keep him in step with where his caucus went. "There certainly were not people who were so anti-Israel when I started, and there are within the progressive caucus now," he said, describing a party that traded coalition politics for ideology.
ICYMI: Things Just Got So Much Worse for the Democrats
Cohen announced last year that he wouldn't seek re-election after the new district drawn and approved by Tennessee's Republican legislature made his chances of reelection nearly impossible, but it’s quite clear he saw a much bigger problem brewing.
"I foresaw it getting really nasty and antisemitism getting into it," he said. He'd already watched that antisemitism spread through his party's rank and file up close, which is exactly why the socialist caucus stopped feeling like home.
Cohen was one of only 22 Democrats willing to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib after she defended the "from the river to the sea" chant in a video accusing President Joe Biden of enabling a Palestinian "genocide." Tlaib hasn't spoken to him since. A sitting congresswoman froze out a colleague for objecting to genocide rhetoric aimed at Israel, and her own party barely blinked.
Make no mistake about it: Cohen didn't quit his caucus over redistricting maps. He quit because the socialists took over and brought their antisemitism with them. The Democrat Party didn't get more “progressive.” It got more socialist, and more left-of-center people are noticing and doing something about it. Not only did Cohen leave the House Progressive Caucus, but Bill Maher says his vote is up for grabs in 2028. And if Democrats fail to win the House in November, you’ll know why.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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