As the leaders of the Democratic Party look fearfully toward the midterm elections in November, many are recoiling from some of the left-wing progressives’ proposals that became prominent during the Trump administration.
While the progressives helped channel widespread anger with the former president’s policies while he was in office, many Democrats now see those same progressive opinions as too extreme and harmful to Democratic prospects this November.
Almost eight months before the elections, Democratic candidates in many states are scrambling to push back against slogans like “Defund the Police,” that were embraced by some progressives in the aftermath of the killing of Black George Floyd by a White policeman in 2020 in Minnesota.
Some progressives were forced to try explaining past associations with the controversial slogan, and some were recalled from boards of education in more than one city.
Last week, In San Francisco, the latest battle among Democrats over how far left the party should move was illustrated by voters recalling three school board members who veered towards the extreme left (some voters called the three “Communists”) even in a city that is a bastion of liberalism.
Following are opposing opinions by two Democrats in San Francisco, from their tweets, websites and statements to the media:
On one side, progressive Alison Collins, who was fired from the board of education after voters recalled her and two other progressive members.
On the other side, moderate (but calling himself “progressive”) Siva Raj, who started the petition to recall the three members of the Education Board last April.
ALISON COLLINS: “FIGHTING RACISM”
“Many on the left of the Democratic Party reject the notion that their ideas on education, policing, racial equity and other issues are a liability for the party…
I was elected to the Board of Education in 2018, among a pool of 19 candidates, and was supported by the party's leadership, which now, fearful of the propaganda by the Republican Party, have (sic) disowned me, and two of my colleagues ...
Yes, in 2016, I complained about incidents of bullying and racism at Francisco Middle School, where my daughters were students…
Yes, in 2019, I voted with the rest of the board to destroy the Life of Washington mural by Viktor Arnautoff in George Washington High School, which had depicted slavery and Native Americans...
Yes, after a national outcry, the board decided in a 4 to 3 vote, with me in the minority, to cover the art work instead. But, as I wrote then, ‘[the] mural is not historic. It is a relic. It is a remnant from a bygone era. You don’t get to tell us to keep them. If you want them, come get them’ ...
Yes, I, and others on the Board, voted to rename 44 schools, named after individuals and places associated allegedly with racism or exploitation. The intent was not to erase history, but to create space for new people who deserve to be celebrated ... Nobody is going to not know who George Washington is. Nobody is going to not know who Lincoln is …
Yes, I voted with the 5-2 majority in 2021 to turn the merit-based admissions policy at Lowell High School into a lottery system calling the former system "racist"...
Then, there were my tweets about Asian Americans that were taken out of context and used against me by my enemies…
At the regular Board meeting, on March 23, 2021, I apologized for the tweets. But I refused to resign. In November 2021, I, again, expressed regret that my words caused hurt to the Asian American community...
But I maintained that my tweets were not racist, and that my words were weaponized by opponents with ulterior motives …”
(These are excerpts from her tweets about Asian Americans: “Many Asian Americans whom I know will not engage in critical race conversations unless they see how they're impacted by White supremacy. ... They believe they benefit from the ‘Model Minority.’ But that is [an obscene word] …
In fact, many Asian Americans actively promote these myths. They use White supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘get ahead’ …
I have talked to many Asian American parents and you will hear praise of Tiger Moms and disparagement of Black/Brown ‘culture’ … No recognition Black Lives Matter exists among them …”)
SIVA RAJ: “OUR PARTY IS LOSING”
“I’ve always thought of myself as a progressive — until now, recently, when I’m looking at this situation of a new racism behind the slogan of anti-racism. I’m shocked — like, how can progressives be for something like this?
This is not me. These are not the values that I buy anymore …
I was overwhelmed by joy when Biden defeated President Donald Trump in 2020. But I have come to believe that defeating the Board of Education’s most left-wing members, president Gabriela Lopez and vice president Alison Collins, would spare the party deeper political problems down the road. I don’t want Alison Collins and Gabriela Lopez to be the face of the progressive movement …
Their actions had moved to:
First, rename schools honoring figures such as Abraham Lincoln, whom they deemed flawed.
Second, sought to diversify an elite high school with an overwhelmingly Asian American and White student body by ending merit-based admissions.
Third, imposed a lengthy pandemic absence from in-person learning…
Now, even liberal San Francisco’s mayor backed recalling Alison Collins and Gabriela Lopez …
But slogans like ‘Abolish ICE’ [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and calls to renounce Lincoln were never representative of the broader Democratic Party.
Now, the Republicans have weaponized such extreme slogans, and have tagged all of their opponents with harsh attacks. These attacks resonated in part because Democrats have often been reluctant to respond directly lest they highlight their own divisions …
Take the phrase, ‘Defund the Police,’ that started after the killing of George Floyd. Unfortunately, the phrase has been so politicized and so many people believe that it is solely about cutting funds to police departments …
Our party has made a mistake in seeking to deflect such attacks rather than meeting them head-on. If there’s a broader lesson here for all us, the Democrats, left or moderate, it’s that we need to define what we’re standing for. We start in the middle of the conversation and we start in response rather than showing what we’re for …”
