Tom Nichols, who writes for The Atlantic and is the author of The Death of Expertise, a study of why people mistrust established knowledge and how this damages democratic stability, on Sunday fired an accusing tweet at the leader of the Democratic party’s leftwing radicals, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, warning: “…having AOC opening friendly fire on other Dems and insisting on a move to the left when the Senate could hang in the balance on two seats in *Georgia* falls into the category of ‘the GOP can’t believe their good luck that she even exists’ level of political dumbness.”
Nichols was referring to AOC’s NY Times interview (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Biden’s Win, House Losses, and What’s Next for the Left) in which she said the Democrats lost between 5 and 6 seats in the House of Representatives because they didn’t push left-leaning policies. She also attacked former Ohio Governor John Kasich, who warned the democrats that they were on the verge of losing the 2020 election because half the country is center-right and would have nothing to do with socialist programs.
Nichols also warned that the Democrats “conclude that moving left, including more talk of socialism and more social-justice activism, is just the tonic they’ll need to shore up their coalition. Some Democrats tend to believe that almost every election confirms the need to lurch to the left, when in fact the 2020 election should be a reminder that Trump would have beaten anyone left of Biden.”
Which is why everybody who is anybody in and around the Democratic party has been ganging up on AOC et al. As Nichols quipped about AOC: “She got elected in a district where a ham sandwich with a D carved on it would be elected.” And a Twitter user calling himself Senator Moneybags noted: “She believes her own press. She outkicked her coverage when she killed the Amazon HQ2 in NYC […] but she lacks self-reflection and like Trump can’t ever admit they were wrong.”
Joe Scarborough, a former Republican Congressman from Florida who switched sides to host “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, also pushed the point that the 2020 election proves the Democrats must avoid the left. And the Lincoln Project, a group of former Republicans who helped push the anti-Trump message on social media, have also been focusing their fire on AOC.
Except that without AOC and her squad, as well as the left-leaning Black caucus in the House, it would be impossible for the Democrats to win the January 5 Georgia elections. Two Senate seats are being contested in Georgia at the same time, and the Democrats must take both to control the Senate. Right now it’s 48 to 48, with 2 additional seats likely going to the Republicans. If both Georgia seats are flipped blue, the Senate will be dead even at 50-50, and VP-elect Kamala Harris will be the tie-breaker.
The fact is that cities like Atlanta and Savanna, which gave the state of Georgia to Biden, could not be won without a historically high black turnout. And the Democrats cannot hope to take even one of those Senate seats without the black voters – which cannot possibly be done if they alienate the party’s radical left. So whatever Biden, Pelosi, and Schumer would like to do to tame the leftwing crazies, it can’t be done before January 5. And the crazies are fully aware of this and expect to cash their chips before that fateful day.
This could easily end up with a 2022 midterm election that would rob the Democrats of the House as well as a few senate seats. All the Republicans have to do – should they fail to reverse the outcome of the 2020 vote – is wait patiently and let the other side self-destruct.