Jim Clyburn Blames Democrat Radicalism for Their Putrid Performances at Congressional and State Level Races
Jose Nino
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Despite winning the presidency, Democrats have had to do some soul searching regarding the dismal performances at the congressional and state level. The pundit class was utterly convinced that Democrats would have a clean sweep at the federal level. Their house majority would expand and they would retake the Senate. None of that ended up happening.
Now, there are some fissures within the Democrat Party regarding messaging and public policy items to pursue, which CNS News has highlighted. On November 7, 2020, South Carolina congressman Jim Clyburn asserted on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the movement calling for defunding the police is what contributed to Democrat Senate candidate Jaime Harrison’s defeat when he ran against South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
Virginia Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger echoed similar sentiments right after elections took place on November 3. She cited the party’s advocacy in favor of defunding the police and pushing for socialist politics as some of the reasons for Democrat’s dismal performance down ballot. NBC host Chuck Todd questioned Clyburn about Spanberger’s comments and whether her claims about Democrats’ performance were right.
“Well, I don’t know about all the seats. I’ve talked to the people down in South Florida. They told me that that really, really was a problem down there, but I can tell you about the 1st congressional district of South Carolina. I really believe that that’s what cost Joe Cunningham his seat, and I can also tell you about the Senate here in South Carolina,” Clyburn remarked.
“Jaime Harrison started to plateau when ‘defund the police’ showed up with a caption on TV, ran across his head. That stuff hurt Jaime, and that’s why I spoke out against it a long time ago. I’ve always said that these headlines can kill a political effort. We are all about making headway, and I just hope that going forward we will think about each one of these congressional districts and let people represent their districts,” the congressman continued.
“You know, Joe Cunningham could not get elected in my district, and I can’t get elected in his. So let’s recognize that the people should reflect that diversity in our country,” Clyburn observed.
“Let me get you to respond to something that Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview this weekend. She said, ‘The last two years have been pretty hostile. Externally, we’ve been winning. Externally, there’s been a ton of support, but internally, it’s been extremely hostile to anything that even smells progressive.’ That was about how things have worked inside, inside the Democratic Congress. How would you respond to her?” Todd inquired.
Clyburn responded:
Well, you know, sometimes I have real problems trying to figure out what progressive means. You know, I tell people all the time, my father was very conservative. He was a minister. I never heard him ask his congregation to give conservatively. He always asked for a liberal offering, and so I believe that it’s good to be conservative at times and in many ways, but it’s also good to be liberal at times, in many ways, and so you have to balance all of this out.
“Now, some people refer to me as being moderate, I’ve been called conservative, and I’ve been called a flaming liberal. What would we call John Lewis? You know, anytime you challenge the status quo, you are looked upon as being liberal. No, you just want to be a part of what’s going on in this great country, a country that you’ve helped to make great, and that’s all this is,” the congressman continued.
There are clear ideological divisions within the Democrat Party. The establishment vs. progressive wings of the party are involved in an interal struggle over issues such as policing, global warming, and healthcare. Much of this squabbling is brought about by the emergence of the radical Left. One issue where there will be consensus is federal gun policy though. Democrats across the board agree on passing gun control. Even though Democrats have many divisions, conservatives should do everything possible to deny them trifectas and total control of governing bodies. Such circumstances would allow them to trample all over civil liberties.
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