Sometimes a politician comes out with a statement that makes one think, "Yeah, you're probably right, but not in the way you think."
Both major political parties have indeed changed some over the last few decades. The Republicans have morphed, as someone once put it, from the "country club Republicans" to the "Sam's Club Republicans," largely dumping the (old and rather unfair) reputation of being the party of wealthy fatcats and instead becoming the party of traditional blue-collar workers, small business owners and the various independent types from gig economy workers to farmers and ranchers.
The Democrats have changed rather more so. My Dad, I remember, described himself as a Truman Democrat, although I know that he voted twice for Ronald Reagan. Dad was a man who believed in keeping his political opinions to himself, but on the rare occasions I was able to draw him out, he always professed a desire for a strong military, more local and less national government, and disdain for government waste. He would have hated the idea of taxpayer bailouts for student loans, appeasing terrorist scumbags, and having drag queens come into elementary schools to read to little kids. That would make him, today, a radical right-winger in the eyes of today's Democrats.
So, yes, things change. From California, we see Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) claiming that, once poor old Joe Biden serves his second term, which seems increasingly unlikely, Democrats will look for a "new generation leading this country."
Khanna was asked by Peter Alexander on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he is interested in running for president in the future, noting that he has been on the campaign trail for President Biden in recent weeks. Khanna did not say whether he would make a future bid for the White House but reiterated the need for new leaders for the country after Biden is elected to a second term.
“I am so focused, as is everyone, in trying to get President Biden elected. But I will say this: This country is hungry after that for a new generation. And we’ve got tremendous talent in our party, and there are young people on the other side as well,” Khanna replied.
“And I’m looking forward after President Biden is reelected to a new generation leading this country,” he added.
He is, of course, thinking of a new generation of leftists. We have seen time and again that when progressive policies fail - they always do - the reaction of progressives is, "We have to progressive harder." It always seems real socialism hasn't yet been tried, and all we need for a progressive Utopia is the right Top Men telling us all what to do.
To that end, Rep. Khanna is trotting out all the usual proggie talking points, especially where the Middle East is concerned.
He also conceded earlier in the interview that it would be difficult to get young people’s support back for Biden, citing concerns with Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza against militant group Hamas.
“Well, the biggest thing we’re running out of time is more people dying. And we have to remember the humanitarian stakes. But, yes, it’s a challenge for our party. Young people want a war to end. But what young people want is a vision, and the president started that with the cease-fire,” he said.
“I hope he can go further, and he should call for two states. He should say in his second term he’s going to convene a peace conference in the Middle East, recognize a Palestinian state without Hamas, work with Egypt, Saudi Arabia on it,” Khanna added.
A little digging would certainly reveal a host of Ro Khanna's progressive ideas that won't work, but for the sake of argument, let's look at what Rep. Khanna mentions here.
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First: He expresses concern about "more people dying." He is not, of course, talking about Israelis, who have only recently suffered the worst mass murder of the Jewish people since the Holocaust. He is concerned about Hamas's dirtbags and the Gazan innocents Hamas uses as human shields. This is a challenge for his party because of the rise of virulent antisemitism on the left.
Second, the president has not made any headway with a ceasefire; Hamas will only use any ceasefire, no matter whose idea it is, to re-arm and re-equip for the next round. Anyone with enough brains to pound sand can see that the only way out of this for Israel is to eliminate Hamas, and that means finding every last Hamas fighter and un-aliving them.
Third and finally: How long have we been trying for this two-state horse squeeze? The "Palestinians" don't want a two-state solution. They want Israel destroyed and every last Jew driven into the sea; that's what "from the river to the sea" means. And Egypt and Saudi Arabia couldn't care less about the people in Gaza (or the West Bank), or they would be taking them in as refugees. They're not doing that.
Ro Khanna is right about one thing: The Democrats, to remain a viable national party, are going to have to embrace a new generation of leadership. But if they want to remain a viable national party, the people they look to should be closer to Zell Miller than the Squad.
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