Leftists aren’t the biggest fans of history these days.
They hate anyone flying the Confederate flag. They emphatically support the new AP U.S. history standards which paint a negative picture of this country’s history. And they want everybody to rename buildings, parks and events to keep up with the politically correct times — particularly the Democratic Party’s own Jefferson-Jackson dinners.
The traditional names for these confabs are now passe because the two presidents are no longer appropriate for the Democrats’ present agenda. (RELATED: The Guy Who Founded America Is No Longer Welcome At Democratic Dinner Tables)
Both men owned slaves and held views that were normal for the 19th century but are beyond the pale for the 21st. They’ve got to be jettisoned because the Democrats are now mainly focused on cultural liberalism. So says The New York Times, a noted liberal authority.
The Times recently reported that several state Democratic groups have barred Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson from their dinner tables as a sign the party is changing “from a union-powered party organized primarily around economic solidarity to one shaped by racial and sexual identity.”
That new focus has put economic liberalism on the back burner, making the symbolism of Jefferson and Jackson irrelevant to the modern-day party.
Both figures embodied a concern for the common man and a commitment to democratic principles, which are out-of-style for today’s party. Jefferson and Jackson don’t align with the values of the current party’s mantra of “inclusiveness, diversity and equality.”
Surprisingly, the person who’s the most likely to suffer from this change is not these long-dead national heroes but the insurgent Democrat candidate Bernie Sanders.
As the Times so-briefly noted, Sanders has a major problem on his hands in the form of the Black Lives Matter movement. Last Saturday, it took only two “racial justice” activists to shut down one of the Vermont senator’s rallies and make him look out of touch with the predominant social force on the left today. (RELATED: Do #BlackLivesMatter More Than Bernie To The Left?)
Even though he is drawing thousands of attendees to his campaign events and racking up impressive poll numbers, Sanders can’t seem to pair his economic message with the prevailing spirit of cultural liberalism.
Sure, the senator does mention his strong support for criminal justice reform and gay marriage. He criticizes racial prejudice. But these are afterthoughts to an agenda that focuses squarely on economic reform, not social justice. On top of that, his stances on immigration and gun rights put him to the right of the present Democratic dogma.
It’s little wonder then that he’s having trouble appealing to African-Americans and other groups of the Democrat coalition. The crowds he draws are white to the point of pasty. There’s nothing that indicates any sort of multicultural Feel-the-Bern coalition is on the horizon.
While Hillary Clinton is no social justice warrior either, she’s in a better position to win over the various demographics due to her treasure trove of campaign funds and promises to rectify every special-interest wrong.
Hillary is much more imbued with the spirit of cultural liberalism than the identity politics-weary Bernie. She loves talking about the “war on women” and how America is plagued with the problem of “white privilege.” She relishes in the opportunities to wag her finger at Republican offenses. She has prioritized offering every faction of the Democrat coalition a piece of the Clinton White House cake.
While she’s no social justice warrior, Clinton is more willing to appease the narrow demands of the various factions on the left.
For the left doesn’t give a damn about the legendary common man. Leftists today only cares about people who are part of an aggrieved group. For there is no “common” man in the balkanized America progressives seek to create.
In their eyes, there’s only a smattering of special interests waiting for a handout from an oppressive majority.
That’s why the special interest has replaced the common man as the Democratic Party’s chief concern. The middle- and working-class folks struggling to make ends meet are the privileged enemy if they hold politically incorrect views. The transsexual multi-millionaire is the victim in desperate need of assistance.
What unites this new left coalition is the feeling of victimization and the politics of resentment against old-time America — the America represented by Jefferson and Jackson.
The LGBT community feels that America was homophobic. African-Americans feel it was racist. Hispanics feel it was xenophobic. And white urban liberals think their stuffy parents embodied it.
Rather than an economic message that seeks to help all people, the left only want to carve away at any sense of national unity in America and put everyone in separate, but not equal categories.
Whether they can keep this ship of factions afloat remains to be seen, but it does offer a perfect opportunity for the GOP to win over Democrats alienated by all the identity politics.
The blue collar folks who grew up voting for the party of Jefferson can’t be too thrilled with the condescending lectures on white privilege. They can’t be happy with the party that makes apologies for riots and lets racial militants take over campaign events. And they sure as hell shouldn’t be pleased with party leaders who champion shady trade deals and want to reward illegal immigration.
Republicans have won these common men over before. Richard Nixon did it. So did Ronald Reagan.
There’s no reason a Republican with the right message can’t do it in 2016.
For which party do you think the two presidents Democrats now loathe would call home today?