Progressive Ideas Keep Winning. Progressive Candidates Keep Losing.
The progressive paradox.
A few days ago, progressive activist-turned-politician Cori Bush upset a moderate 10-term incumbent in a Missouri Democratic primary. The improbable victory, coupled with Jamaal Bowman’s unseating of Eliot Engel, has led some in the media to ponder whether the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has taken over. Is this the left’s Tea Party?
Not quite.
The reason Bush and Bowman receive national headlines for their victories is because they are the exceptions, not the rule. If progressives were successfully challenging moderate incumbents, the media spotlight would be far dimmer.
It is difficult to imagine how the progressive faction of the Democratic Party can claim victory when the standard bearer of the party is Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. The most powerful Democrats in Congress are Pelosi and Schumer. Not exactly Marx and Engels.
This is to take nothing away from Bush or Bowman, both incredible stories. They will serve their constituents well. But their victories are less of a progressive coup d’ètat and more of a generational housecleaning.
While Bush’s victory didn’t catch my eye, another Missouri election story did. The Show-Me State, which Trump carried…
