During the Democratic primaries this year, the headlines about what was happening in the party were both breathless and contradictory. The most common message, though, was that a segment of the Democrats had lurched far left and was engaged in a “civil war” with the party establishment. These Democratic Socialists, this version goes, were “conquering” the Democratic Party.
Now that the primaries are over, we can make some more definitive conclusions. Bottom line, the progressive movement is energized, but there is not much evidence that it is taking over the Democratic Party or pulling it far to the left. CONT.
Elaine Kamarck (Brookings), New York Times