Markey won Senate primary, but AOC can claim victory
A Kennedy gets pulverized at the polls in Massachusetts, and it’s no big deal? That’s your story, Democrats, and you’re sticking to it.
You keep telling yourself that Sen. Ed Markey’s crushing defeat of challenger Joe Kennedy III means nothing outside Massachusetts. That Kennedy ran a crappy campaign, that plenty of moderate incumbents like Richie Neal held off progressive challenges.
A progressive revolution pushing your party to the extreme left? Don’t be silly. This is just the power of incumbency, not a victory for progressive crazy, not at all!
You can spin that story all you want, but nobody can hear you over the gasps of “Holy (expletive)! Those #Woke whackjobs just took down a Kennedy … in Massachusetts!”
Anyone remember the Barack Obama presidency? Americans like Obama personally, but didn’t particularly care for his policies. And so they elected him, then two years later would punish the Democrats in Congress for doing what Obama wanted them to do: ObamaCare, the Iran deal, etc.
Trump has been Obama’s political photo negative: Americans hate the guy, but they’re actually pretty OK with his policies: America First trade approach, his handling of the economy and the like.
Enter the AOC progressives, who are in sync with their fellow Americans when it comes to hating Trump and seeing him as a divisive figure, but are completely out of step on policy. Americans do not want to replace their private insurance with Medicare for All. They tell pollsters they have no interest in playing higher energy costs to bring about the Green New Deal windmill utopia. And they definitely aren’t about defunding cops or funding reparations.
But the social justice warriors of the Sunrise Movement, Justice Democrats and Democracy for America — all groups who backed Markey over Kennedy — have made these issues the “mandatory minimum” for approval. Reject them at your peril.
Now, because Massachusetts politics is designed to protect incumbents at all costs, we have some of the latest primaries in the country. (New Hampshire’s are on Tuesday.) As a result, there won’t be a surge in progressive challengers this campaign season. But the impacts will be felt immediately among the Democrats already in office, who see trophies being collected by Team AOC with candidates like Rep. Ayanna Pressley in Boston, Jamaal Bowman in New York City and Cori Bush in St. Louis.
Keep in mind that the Democrats these progressives took down weren’t Blue Dog moderates like Joe Manchin of West Virginia. They were solid liberals like Mike Capuano. The progressive movement isn’t succeeding in turning purple seats blue. It’s turning blue seats red — as in “communist.”
OK, I’m exaggerating. But nobody is happier to see hardcore liberals being defeated by far-left crazies more than the GOP. You see Trump’s tweet Wednesday morning? He couldn’t contain his glee.
“See, even a Kennedy isn’t safe in the new Radical Left Democrat Party,’ Trump said. “Taxes up big, no 2A. Biden has completely lost control. Pelosi strongly backed the loser!”
At the Boston Globe Democrat, they’re trying to frame Markey’s win as “The Establishment Strikes Back.” What is more “Establishment” than the Kennedys? Particularly with the endorsement of Speaker Pelosi.
As for the “Little Joe’s a loser” argument, since when has it mattered if a Kennedy was actually any good at campaigning? Ted Kennedy was responsible for a woman’s death, and never faced a competitive race.
Markey won for one reason: He was the most all-out AOC candidate in the race.
This race wasn’t Markey vs. Kennedy over a Massachusetts senate seat. It was AOC vs. Pelosi for the future of their party.
And another round goes to the crazy commie in Queens.