The Democrats in the House of Representatives elected their new leadership team. To paraphrase The Who, meet the new bosses.
In the not-too distant past, Democrats were the party of blue-collar Americans. According to the Republicans, they were the party for the rich.
The Democratic elders of the village were shuffled from the House leadership stage and the party decided that they would be replaced by more evidence that the country is now a flyover country.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffreys was elected to be the House Democrats’ leader next year. This makes Jeffries the first Black person to lead an important political party in Congress. It also marks a shift in generational leadership after the departure of three long-serving chiefs.
Democrats love to boast about how their policies are popular with the majority of American citizens. This is a false claim. The party ignores large swathes of its own electorate. Many Democratic power players believe they need passports in order to travel to Middle America. They are completely clueless as to what the majority of Americans want.
Over the years, I have often been amazed at the apparent existence of two distinct Democratic parties in the United States. There is the party that we all know about, which is dominated by voices from the bluest states and most American cities. Nancy Pelosi, who represents one of most radical left districts in America, has been at the House’s helm for almost all of her life. It may even be the most radical.
There are also Democrats who live between the two coasts and who seem to have less in common with their party leaders. It is hard to believe that Ohio’s blue-collar Democrats are so focused on teaching first-graders about gender queer fetishkink, despite their difficulties with inflation.
However, Democrats are legacy voters. Because their parents voted Democrat, they have voted Democrat all their lives. This is a large part of the Big Labor connection. There are signs that they don’t vote as reflexively. Blue-collar Dems got tired of being lied too and elected Donald Trump. Biden got a lot back by lying to them yet again, so they’re not quite ready to leap in the deep end yet.
The House Democratic leadership is a reflection of the fact that the party’s ideological and literal fringe has completely taken control. Jeffries hails from New York City. Clark hails from Boston. Aguilar’s California district is located a little inland, making him the most “centrist”. Ted Lieu will replace him. His district includes some of Los Angeles’ most liberal and wealthy suburbs. Lieu doesn’t meet many regular Americans in Santa Monica or Rancho Palos Verdes.
In a closed ballot vote, Lieu defeated three other lawmakers — Reps. Joyce Beatty(D-Ohio), Debbie Dingells (D–Mich.) & Madeleine Dean (D–Pa.) — to secure his position as No. 5 House Democrats in the next Congress.
Although one might think that Pennsylvania would be thrown a bone if it elected a non-functioning Democrat Hobo to the United States Senate in Pennsylvania, the party seems determined to keep the worst of the Golden State at power now that Granny Boxwine has stepped down from her throne.
There’s a chance for Republicans to gain some ground with “normal” Democrats, given the party’s apparent disdain for Middle America. The problem with Republican leadership in Washington is that they are often hesitant to take advantage of opportunities. Let’s hope, though, that some of them will learn something from the midterms.
