Dems erupt into civil war… that will cost them MORE elections

Dems erupt into civil war… that will cost them MORE elections

October 19, 2017

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Because they’re unable to win elections, Democrats have begun to war with themselves — and it’s causing moderates to flee the party.

In California, restless “alt-left” activists are challenging party leaders to resist all things President Donald Trump and move further left on healthcare, the minimum wage and populist issues.

The conflict could complicate Democratic hopes of winning as many as nine congressional seats in the state, a cluster that would go a long way toward helping the party grab the House majority in next year’s midterm elections.

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In California, where Democrats control all levers of power in state government and no Republican has won a statewide election since 2006, the party is feuding over who is doing a better job resisting Trump.

Republicans see a political advantage, arguing Democratic candidates will barrel too far left to win right-leaning seats currently held by the GOP.

“You take what is a very unlikely scenario of victory and make it an impossible scenario of victory,” said former Orange County Republican Chairman Scott Baugh, who is running against GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher.

Democrats counter that whatever discord exists is a symptom of unprecedented energy that will help them next year, but acknowledge they’re in new territory.

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“I’ve never seen the type of grassroots political activity I’ve seen since the election,” said Mike Levin, one of several Democrats — all of whom back socialist healthcare — vying to face vulnerable GOP Rep. Darrell Issa in San Diego’s northern suburbs. “I’ve grown up here and I think we’re just going to have to wait and see. All I can do is talk about our priorities.”

The headline-grabbing challenge to the Democratic establishment from the left is in the Senate race.

State Senate leader Kevin de Leon is running against five-term Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pressing for fiercer resistance to Trump. Backers of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have fumed that the Democratic-controlled state legislature balked at embracing socialist healthcare this year, while an activist backed by Sanders’ loyalists almost captured the state Democratic Party’s top job.

Hillary Clinton handily won California’s Democratic primary last year, but even state politicians who embraced her, like de Leon, now sound more like Sanders. For decades, older and more centrist liberals like Feinstein, 84, and Gov. Jerry Brown, 79, have dominated the landscape, creating a backlog of Democrats eager to climb the electoral ladder. Trump’s presidency has shocked the leftist state, and liberals have tough demands.

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“People are saying, ‘why are you fighting Democrats, you really should be fighting Republicans?’ In California, that’s not the case,” said Eddie Kurtz, president of the liberal group The Courage Campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this article