The New Democrats: Rebels Without a Caucus

As progressive candidates in New York City and across the nation convincingly win their primary battles, Democrats in Congress – and in particular those in leadership positions – may be sweating the increasingly likely prospect of having to govern after November’s midterms. It’s not simply that the slew of more radical candidates has an agenda beyond the mainstream vision of their party, but that many are openly hostile to those who hope to wield the reins of power.

And with each far-left victory, the “permission concept” for voters disgruntled with business-as-usual politics gets adopted, leading to a likelihood of more and more of these rebellious contenders gaining the keys to the Senate and House. For House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart Chuck Schumer, this is an incoming hangover from which they may not easily recover.

Democrats Optimistic About November?

Certainly, Washington, DC, politicos would rather have power than not have it. But like the classic horror fable “The Monkey’s Paw,” the deep wish of the heart is often tainted by the reality of its manifestation.

The Big Apple saw three ultra progressives, Brad Lander, Claire Valdez, and Darializa Avila Chevalier, coast to congressional primary wins on June 23. This is New York City, so the chances of them winning in November are a smart money bet. Will the motley crew of nascent lawmakers abandon their rhetoric on communism and defiling the American flag once the congressional paychecks start landing? Or is it more probable that, like the Squad 1.0, they’ll find safety in numbers and begin carving out their own lower chamber fiefdom?

That’s a headache that Jeffries will have to cure if he wants to use the potentially successful midterms as a launchpad for a Democrat trifecta in 2028. Worse still for the House powerbroker is that this incoming group is operating in his own backyard.

Politics is often the art of sidestepping the issue. Having geographical distance can make the dance routine far easier to master. But when your colleagues are praising Vladimir Lenin, demanding that the government seize the means of production, and calling for the abolishment of prisons, right on your own doorstep, the deflecting duckwalk becomes an impossible task. And just to add insult to injury, if Jeffries hopes to switch from the minority leadership to the majority next January, he’ll need their support.

The Senate Has Its Own Problems

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also of New York, is in a similar scuppered boat. To win power in the upper chamber, Democrats need to flip four seats, one of which is in Maine, where Democrat primary winner Graham Platner’s controversies are stacking up like credit card debt.

Before Platner’s primary win, he was handily polling higher than incumbent GOP Senator Susan Collins to the tune of roughly seven points. Since his victory, however, and with the possibility that a man who used to sport a Nazi tattoo might be the crucial step to the majority, his lead has decreased to just two points. That’s quite a drop, especially considering that most of the really bad scandals have probably been held in abeyance by Republicans to use at the most damaging time.

But what if he does topple Collins in November and becomes the next senator for Maine? It would perhaps be beyond the pale for even Chuck Schumer to declare his political enemies “Nazis” and “Fascists” while standing shoulder to shoulder with one whose flesh was so recently inscribed. And let’s not forget that Platner (according to his own 2021 social media posts) is an avowed “communist.”

And then there’s Michigan, a must-win seat for Democrats to win back Senate control, where Abdul El-Sayed is looking ready to win his August primary. El-Sayed has campaigned with podcaster Hasan Piker, who claimed America deserved 9/11 and has an ever-growing list of other questionable associates.

Both Platner and El-Sayed are far more aligned with the progressive wing of the party than the mainstream, and both are likely to cause very public headaches for Schumer if they win.

The Cost and Curse of Power

Should the winds of change be blowing in the direction of Democrats this November, January will bring a handover of power and a potentially impossible job of corralling different and dissident voices. Republicans went through a similar transformation with the rise of Donald Trump, and yet, that was of a somewhat different order. After all, Make America Great Again was a slogan – and a movement to some degree – during Ronald Reagan’s 1980 campaign. Trump becoming president and then reshaping the party was more of a reset than a revolution, kicking the recently dominant strains in the GOP to the curb.

For Democrats, should they regain Congress, it will be a caucus divided as the old guard does battle with the new. Schumer and Jeffries will be the spiritual leaders of a Big Church, certainly, but one seemingly split into warring congregations.