On Tuesday’s New Day present, CNN analyst John Avlon devoted a “Realty Verify” phase to arguing that Republican members of Congress are extra excessive than Democrats, and downplayed the affect of self-described “progressive” liberals on the Democratic social gathering.
As he cited examples to spotlight progressive failures at grabbing extra seats in Congress, he tried to go off two Democrats as moderates despite the fact that they’re members of the Home Progressive Caucus, and dd not inform viewers that nearly half the Home Democrats are members of this far-left group.
Avlon — who as soon as wrote a guide titled Wingnuts — started the phase by asserting that the far left and much proper use each other as foils to rally their base earlier than then downplaying the Democratic social gathering’s left-wing base:
The very fact is that the far left and the far proper don’t remotely have the identical political energy of their events, and this 12 months’s primaries present the receipts. Now, this cycle, we have seen loads of proof that Trump’s election lies are the GOP’s litmus check. One current evaluation by the Washington Publish discovered that 39 election deniers received their Home primaries, and that is simply in six key swing states. By comparability, the far left is falling far brief. The so-called Squad could play a starring position in Republican assault advertisements, however they’re extra well-known than highly effective.
Then, as if whether or not one brazenly makes use of the phrases “defund the police” had been the one indication of far-left activism, Avlon additional recalled: “By my depend, there are simply seven Home Democrats who formally help defunding the police, however 147 Republicans voted to overturn the election after the assault on our Capitol.”
He then moved to citing polling by Pew Analysis that finds that solely a small portion of Individuals establish themselves as “progressive” because the liberal CNN analyst added:
Now, extremes are often louder than they’re giant, and get this: Simply 12 p.c of Democrats and Dem-leaning independents describe themselves as members of the progressive left — that is in accordance with a 2021 survey by Pew. Which interprets to round seven p.c of registered voters. The mainstream of Democratic voters and social gathering management is decidedly on the middle left, not the far left. Keep in mind, that is how Joe Biden received the 2020 nomination — by ignoring the social media distortion discipline and as an alternative showing to precise Democratic major voters who are usually older, extra average and extra working class than Twitter filibusters would counsel.
Avlon didn’t point out that, out of 220 members of the Home of Representatives who’re Democrats, 100 are literally members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. That is 44 p.c of Home Democrats who’re a part of a self-described “progressive” group. Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi additionally was a member of the progressive caucus earlier than she was elected to her social gathering’s management 20 years in the past.
Avlon went on to record plenty of examples of far-left progressive Democrats dropping to much less liberal Democrats in primaries, however he additionally misleadingly counted as moderates two members of the progressive caucus — Shontel Brown of Ohio and Danny Davis of Illinois — who defeated challengers who had been additional to the left than they’re.
This liberal spin by CNN was sponsored in social gathering by Sling TV. Their contact data is linked.
Transcript follows:
CNN’s New Day
August 30, 2022
8:49 a.m. Japanese
JOHN AVLON: So there is a suggestions loop between the far left and the far proper that is usually used to justify the opposite’s rise, and since politics is notion, Individuals see each events as equally excessive. However, to a big extent, it is a struggle in a corridor of mirrors — all partisan distortion pushed by emotion. The very fact is that the far left and the far proper don’t remotely have the identical political energy of their events, and this 12 months’s primaries present the receipts.
Now, this cycle, we have seen loads of proof that Trump’s election lies are the GOP’s litmus check. One current evaluation by the Washington Publish discovered that 39 election deniers received their Home primaries, and that is simply in six key swing states. By comparability, the far left is falling far brief. The so-called Squad could play a starring position in Republican assault advertisements, however they’re extra well-known than highly effective. By my depend, there are simply seven Home Democrats who formally help defunding the police, however 147 Republicans voted to overturn the election after the assault on our Capitol.
Now, extremes are often louder than they’re giant, and get this: Simply 12 p.c of Democrats and Dem-leaning independents describe themselves as members of the progressive left — that is in accordance with a 2021 survey by Pew. Which interprets to round seven p.c of registered voters. The mainstream of Democratic voters and social gathering management is decidedly on the middle left, not the far left. Keep in mind, that is how Joe Biden received the 2020 nomination — by ignoring the social media distortion discipline and as an alternative showing to precise Democratic major voters who are usually older, extra average and extra working class than Twitter filibusters would counsel.
Now that the 2022 Home primaries we have got a brand new metric, so let’s dig into the info. Now, in New York’s seventeenth district, Consultant Alexandria Ocasio Cortez endorsed progressive State Senator Alessandra Biaggi and problem Congressman Sean Patrck Maloney, head of the DCCC. However Biaggi misplaced large time, 2-1. So too with Max Rose — a average navy veteran and former congressman from Staten island who simply outpolled a progressive major challenger.
In fact, it isn’t only a New York factor. For instance, in Michigan’s eleventh district, Dem Rep Haley Stevens beat the extra progressive Consultant Andy Levin. in Ohio, progressive firebrand and former State Senator Nina Turner misplaced a rematch towards the extra average Congresswoman Shontel Brown. in North Carolina’s 1st district, State Senator Don Davis — former mayor, navy veteran and pastor — defeated a major candidate who tried to run to his left. in Illinois seventh, a much-hyped generational rematch fell flat after group organizer Tina Collins misplaced to incumbent Danny Davis by round seven factors — which was admittedly higher than the 45-pont trouncing she took two years in the past.
Whereas in Texas, the final remaining anti-abortion Democrat within the Home, Henry Cuellar, narrowly defeated a progressive problem from Jessica Cisneros. However this is a extremely shocking nationwide stat. In keeping with Brookings, solely 34 p.c of the practically 500 Democrats who’ve run for Home or Senate this cycle referred to as themselves “progressive” whereas solely a few quarter working on positions like defunding the police or the Inexperienced New Deal whereas lower than two p.c establish as “Democratic socialists” like AOC and Bernie Sanders.
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However, backside line, progressives have extra cultural affect than political energy proper now. And so, regardless of all of the noise in regards to the far left taking up the Democratic social gathering, the 2022 major outcomes present that is not rooted in realty. And should you’re nonetheless making an attempt to get your head round what’s taking place, simply hearken to the Ragin’ Cajun, James Carville. “What is going on on,” he stated, “is just that the Democrats who truly vote are considerably extra pragmatic than the Democrats who discuss. And that is your “Actuality Verify.”