It seems that at least some on the left are finally realizing that the push for wokeism is backfiring. But at this point, it might be too late to turn that particular ship around in time for the 2022 midterm elections. Indeed, the Democrats’ full embrace of hard leftist rhetoric and policy proposals has probably done more to help the Republican Party than anything else.
Could it be that now they are starting to get it after all?
Certain developments suggest that some have begun trying to get through to their comrades on the left. Axios noted that several high-profile leftists are “ringing the alarm that their party sounds – and acts – too judgmental, too sensitive, too ‘woke’ to large swaths of America.”
The news outlet also reported that “top Democrats” are seeing the problem with the hyperfocus on wokeism and are trying to take steps to pull the party back from the brink. The authors point to Eric Adams’ victory in New York City’s mayoral race as proof that voters are rejecting the incessant focus on woke theology.
Kevin Drum, a progressive journalist, wrote a piece detailing how the Democrats have moved further to the left than Republicans have moved to the right and noted how this could be alienating America’s more mainstream voters.
Drum also pointed out that the hard left’s focus on “white academic theories of racism” and the emphasis on wokeism is, not surprisingly, pushing away minority voters. He wrote:
Recently, white academic theories of racism—and probably the whole woke movement in general—have turned off many moderate Black and Hispanic voters.¹ Ditto for liberal dismissal of crime and safety issues. Hispanics in particular moved in Trump’s direction despite—or maybe because of—his position on immigration and the wall.
The journalist ends the piece by telling the rest of the left to stop insulting his intelligence “by pretending that wokeness and cancel culture are all just figments of the conservative imagination.”
Axios noted that “people voted for Democrats in November when the same talking points and ideas were being discussed” and that “the presidency was at stake, but the other cultural or social issues were the same.”
However, it is critical to point out that what the authors are missing is that the Democrats took tremendous losses in the House and at the state level. Moreover, they did not gain a significant lead over Republicans in the Senate. And, of course, we can’t forget the fact that many who supported President Biden were only doing so because they wanted Trump out of office, not because they love Uncle Joe.
CNN’s Chris Cillizza also observed how wokeism is causing problems for the Democrats. During a recent video, he explained how the far-left is out of touch with the American public.
Cillizza noted that “’woke’ liberals demanding adherence to policies on crime, the environment, and government spending” are “simply not shared by a majority of the country.” The CNN anchor also cited Democratic strategist James Carville, who has also issued a clarion call to the Democratic Party.
In an interview with Vox, Carville minced no words when he said that “wokeness is a problem and everyone knows it,” and indicated that behind closed doors, Democratic officials recognize the dangers of embracing wokeism, but “don’t want to say it out loud.” According to the strategist, these individuals fear being seen as “intolerant.”
Cillizza cited a series of polls demonstrating that American voters are not exactly on board with the Democrat’s embrace of woke policies. He referred to a survey taken after the 2018 midterm elections that found that 52 percent of Americans were “against the country becoming more politically correct and upset there are too many things people can’t say anymore.” Only 36% believed that the country should become more politically correct.
In a conversation with CNN, South Carolina governor Jim Hodges discussed how suburban voters, many of whom are turned off by wokeism, are an increasingly important voting bloc. He said:
If we learned anything from 2020, it was that growth with suburban voters, many former Republicans, carried Biden across the finish line, and these same voters will make the difference in competitive swing State elections.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that initiatives like “Defund the Police” and Critical Race Theory (CRT) in the classroom are designed to fail. The hard left’s “All Cops Are Bastards” is not exactly winning with most Americans – including the black community, of which 81 percent want police in their neighborhoods. Indeed, a USA Today/Ipsos survey showed that a paltry 18 percent of all Americans wish to defund law enforcement agencies.
The CRT battle is also not going so well for Democrats, who can’t seem to get their messaging together on the subject. First, they claimed that elements of CRT were not being taught in classrooms. Then, after that was revealed to be yet another lie, they switched to defending CRT as just “teaching history.” Unfortunately for them, nobody is buying that particular line of equestrian fecal matter.
A Harvard/Harris poll conducted a few weeks ago showed that 61 percent of respondents disagreed with the notion that “kids in elementary school should be taught that America is structurally racist and is dominated by white supremacy.” Only 39 percent approved of this type of teaching. Both Democrats and Republicans did not want this idea to be taught to their children.
The Democrats warning their compatriots about the stupidity of subscribing to woke theology see the writing on the wall and are rightly trying to get the rest of the movement to reverse course. The question is: Will their pleas fall on deaf ears?
I think we already know the answer, don’t we?
