Moderate Dems Now Know Party’s Left-Wing Is in Control [OPINION]

If moderate Democrats somehow didn't know where the party was going in 2018 after Congressman Mike Capuano (D-Massachusetts) and Joe Crowley (D-New York) fell to the likes of Ayanna Pressley and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they sure do now with the first-time ever loss by a Kennedy in Massachusetts history.

Think about this: Joe Crowley was the Democrat Caucus Chair when he was tossed from congress by voters in his district which he'd represented for 10 terms. AOC was a little-known Latina with radically left ideals – her background and platform, you would think, would be big hurdles in appealing to voters at large. Yet she pummeled Crowley, 57 percent to 43 percent. In the 2018 primary in the Massachusetts 7th district, Capuano, a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was thought to be another "safe seat" and was easily dismissed by Pressley, 59 percent to 41 percent.

If that wasn't enough of a cautionary tale for Democrats hoping to cling to at least some of the JFK party platform, the dismissal of his great-nephew Joseph Kennedy III on Tuesday ought to be clear.

Senator Ed Markey defeated Congressman Kennedy 55 percent to 45 percent, giving a Kennedy their first election loss in Massachusetts history. This is going back to 1879 in what is today East Boston when Patrick Kennedy ran for precinct captain and then for city council, to John F. Kennedy for U.S. Senate and the presidency, Ted Kennedy's rise, etc. The Kennedy dynasty just doesn't lose in Massachusetts, never mind in a Democratic Party primary.

They don't lose here unless there is a major change in the direction of the party. Clearly, there is a radical change of course. There was a time when Democrats would deny the characterizations made by conservatives to the American people and condemn those who called them "socialists" as being liars and fearmongers.

I have to say, the Democrat voters on the SouthCoast in Massachusetts went with Kennedy over Markey, which to me was a wise decision. Markey has already demonstrated that he looks at New Bedford as a reluctant in-law. JKIII spent time down here and made a lot of allies and the vote reflected this.

The problem for Kennedy was that Markey had the far left in his corner around Boston, Springfield, and the "Bernie-wingers" in the northwest in places such as Greenfield and Adams.

Markey played it smart. He saw the power of "The Squad" and where the party is going. He has been a parrot and faithful serf to his lords and has been justly rewarded with his re-election over Kennedy.

Mudville gasped. Casey struck out. Nothing will be the same.

At first, the Democrats were able to marginalize the far left. Sure, you had Ted Kennedy in the Senate but they would give him his red meat for his constituents back home in Massachusetts, and he in exchange would leave their national platform alone.

At some point shortly before the George W. Bush era came to an end, the far-left wing of the Democratic Party began to shed its shyness. Its members stopped denying what they were up to and started shoving it down our throats. Enter the rise of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, the Black Congressional Caucus (who do not welcome right-of-center Black members of Congress) and others, forming a powerful alliance.

Late in 2008, former Vice President Joe Biden vehemently insisted that neither he nor presidential candidate Barack Obama supported same-sex marriage:

Biden then actually attributed his position evolving in 2012 to supporting same-sex marriage largely in part to the "educational" content found in the sitcom Will & Grace:

And now just eight years after that, Biden calls anyone who opposes any right on the agenda of the LGBT movement "haters" and "bigots."

Not for a second do I believe Biden had some kind of epiphany about gay marriage. I think he understood that if he said anything outside of advocating for it, he was going to be tossed aside by the progressives in the Democratic Party. So now, Biden and other Democrats who in the past stood against same-sex marriage now do to Republicans and other Americans what was done to them within the party first – they bully people into saying things they don't really mean but are intimidated by fear. The same tactics are true for abortion, healthcare, college tuition and others.

By the way, I'm using the same-sex marriage issue to demonstrate the modus operandi of the Democrats as they flip-flop on issues or on whether or not they agree to be outed for their economic ideology of socialism. I am in no way kicking up a debate of decided law.

So even though the Democrats have moved to the left in great strides under President Obama, the shift isn't settling – it's accelerating.

Look around at the differences between New York, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Washington D.C. and how they compare to 2008. Riots, looting, vandalism, and brazen public violence are regular and expected norms today.

Demands are now being made by Democrats for us all to see "rights" in "free" college, "free" healthcare, and "free" housing, de-stabilizing citizenship so all humans across the globe have equal access to the resources of our country.

I will give the Democratic Party credit for this much: they have become more honest about who they really are and how they envision the remainder of the 21st-century United States.

Ken Pittman is the host of The Ken Pittman Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Contact him at ken.pittman@townsquaremedia.com. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.